Maryland Heating Assistance: MEAP
Office of Home Energy Programs, Maryland Department of Human Services runs the federal heating grant in Maryland. Applications run July 1 to June 30. Office of Home Energy Programs takes applications online at marylandbenefits.gov, drop box at a local office, mail-in application to the local office, telephone and in person at a local home energy program office.
Heating assistance in Maryland, in one screen
Maryland Energy Assistance Program (MEAP), run with the Electric Universal Service Program (EUSP) by the Office of Home Energy Programs
- Run by
- Office of Home Energy Programs, Maryland Department of Human Services
- The season
- Applications run July 1 to June 30.
- The income test
- The test is gross household income over the last 30 days at or below the monthly limit published for the household size in fiscal year 2027, set out in the state agency's own table rather than as a percentage of either national measure.
- How to apply
- Office of Home Energy Programs takes applications online at marylandbenefits.gov, drop box at a local office, mail-in application to the local office, telephone and in person at a local home energy program office.
- By phone
- 1-800-332-6347
About Energy Assistance, Office of Home Energy Programs, Maryland Department of Human Services
The Office of Home Energy Programs (OHEP) provides bill assistance to low-income households in the State of Maryland to make their energy costs more affordable and help with the prevention of loss and the restoration of home energy service.About Energy Assistance, Office of Home Energy Programs, Maryland Department of Human Services, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The office pays the heating grant straight to the fuel supplier or utility rather than to the household, gives the electric grant once a program year, and prints no figure for either. The arrearage grant caps printed on its current application page are 2,000 dollars on an electric balance and 1,000 dollars on a gas balance.
The MEAP income test in Maryland
The test is gross household income over the last 30 days at or below the monthly limit published for the household size in fiscal year 2027, set out in the state agency's own table rather than as a percentage of either national measure.
Income is counted gross rather than after tax, and the household is everyone living at the address rather than everyone on the lease. Most states count the last thirty days or the last twelve months, not last year’s tax return, which means a household whose hours were cut in October can qualify in November on a year that looks too high on paper. Apply and let the agency do the arithmetic rather than ruling yourself out.
FY27 Income Eligiblity (houshold Size) Household Size Monthly Income Limits 1 Person $2,660 2 Persons $3,607 3 Persons $4,553 4 Persons $5,500 5 Persons $6,447 6 Persons $7,393 7 Persons $8,340 8 Persons $9,287 9 Persons $10,233 10 Persons $11,180 11+ Contact your Local OHEP OfficeAbout Energy Assistance, Office of Home Energy Programs, Maryland Department of Human Services, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The crisis route in Maryland
Arrearage Retirement Assistance pays down a large past due electric or gas bill of 300 dollars or more, once every five years, and the office says a turn off notice is not needed to qualify for any of its help.
A crisis application and a regular one are different transactions on different clocks. A household with a disconnection notice, an empty tank or a dead furnace should start with this one, say plainly on the call what the emergency is, and have the notice or the delivery ticket to hand.
If eligible, customers may receive a grant for up to $2,000 towards their past due electric bill and up to $1,000 towards their past due gas bill. Customers must have a past due bill of $300 or greater to be considered eligible.About Energy Assistance, Office of Home Energy Programs, Maryland Department of Human Services, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Whether Maryland also stops the utility disconnecting
Reviewed one household at a time
The two are separate: a heating grant is money and a shutoff rule is a restriction on the company. In several states an approved grant application is itself what satisfies the filing the shutoff rule asks for, which makes applying worth doing even for a household that thinks the grant will not cover much. The full rule, with Maryland Public Service Commission’s own words, is on the Maryland winter shutoff page.
Making the house cheaper to heat in Maryland
Maryland runs Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) through Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. It pays for the insulation and the air sealing rather than the bill, which is the only part of this that lowers next winter as well as this one.
Maryland's WAP assists income-eligible homeowners and renters in our state by reducing heating and cooling costs through energy-conservation measures, while also addressing health and safety issues in their homes.Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
In most states a household approved for the heating grant is automatically income eligible for weatherization, so the same paperwork does both. The waiting list is usually long and the work is usually free, which is a combination worth joining early rather than in the week it is needed.
Maryland heating assistance questions
Heating assistance in other states
Maryland read September 23, 2026 from About Energy Assistance, Office of Home Energy Programs, Maryland Department of Human Services, linked above. Opening dates, income limits and benefit amounts are set each program year and the agency can change them mid season, so the page linked above is the one that governs. Every state is on the heating assistance hub.