Nebraska Heating Assistance: LIHEAP
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services runs the federal heating grant in Nebraska. Applications run October 1 to March 31. Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services takes applications online, in person at a dhhs office and by phone.
Heating assistance in Nebraska, in one screen
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- Run by
- Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
- The season
- Applications run October 1 to March 31.
- The income test
- The test is 150 percent of the federal poverty level, measured against the federal poverty level, so the qualifying figure is the same in every state that uses it and moves only with household size.
- How to apply
- Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services takes applications online, in person at a dhhs office and by phone.
- By phone
- (800) 383-4278
Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
LIHEAP helps low-income households stay safe and healthy by providing financial assistance to offset the costs of heating and cooling. ... Heating Assistance The heating season is from October 1st through March 31st. Payments are made one time per heating season to utility providers.Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The LIHEAP income test in Nebraska
The test is 150 percent of the federal poverty level, measured against the federal poverty level, so the qualifying figure is the same in every state that uses it and moves only with household size.
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.
To qualify for LIHEAP, a household must: Have income at or below 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL)Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The crisis route in Nebraska
Crisis payments go to utility providers year round, including deposits and reconnection fees, for a household that hit an unanticipated inability to pay in the last 90 days because of a medical or household expense, a permanent involuntary loss of work, the departure or illness of the main earner, or a death in the household.
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.
Crisis Assistance Payments are made year-round to utility providers to alleviate crisis situations. This includes payments for deposits and reconnect fees.Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Whether Nebraska also stops the utility disconnecting
Once the household files, Nov 1 to Mar 31
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 Nebraska Public Service Commission’s own words, is on the Nebraska winter shutoff page.
Making the house cheaper to heat in Nebraska
Nebraska runs Nebraska Weatherization Assistance Program through Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment. 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.
Weatherization enables low-income families in Nebraska to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. ... To receive free weatherization services for your home, your income must fall below 200% of the federal poverty level, which is revised annually.Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment, 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.
Nebraska heating assistance questions
Heating assistance in other states
Nebraska read September 23, 2026 from Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), Nebraska Department of Health and 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.