Washington calls it LIHEAP, and it opens Oct 1

Washington Heating Assistance: LIHEAP

Q: What is heating assistance called in Washington?

Washington runs the federal program as Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), administered by Washington State Department of Commerce. 18 different program names appear across the states compiled here, which is why a search for the federal acronym often misses the page a household in Washington actually needs.

Q: When can a household apply for heating assistance in Washington?

Applications run October 1 to September 30. The agency's own words: "Commerce's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) aims to help low-income households in Washington state receive affordable, dependable utility services and avoid disconnection."

Q: Does Washington also stop a utility disconnecting heat in winter?

Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission sets a separate rule on that, and its short form is: Once the household files, Nov 15 to Mar 15. In several states the two are linked, because receiving assistance is itself what switches the disconnection protection on. The winter shutoff page for Washington carries the rule.

Q: Is there help making the house cheaper to heat in Washington?

Washington State Department of Commerce runs Weatherization Program, which is the companion to the bill payment side. Its own words: "cost-effective energy efficiency repairs to reduce energy bills and increase home health, safety and durability for qualified homeowners and renters"

Q: Is heating assistance in Washington a state program or a federal one?

Both, in the way that matters to a household. The money is a federal block grant; Washington State Department of Commerce decides what it is called, when it opens, who is eligible and what it pays. Across the states compiled here that produces 18 program names and 8 different opening months, so the answer is a state answer even though the funding is federal.

Q: Where does Washington publish its own heating assistance rules?

On Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Washington State Department of Commerce, which is the page every figure here was read from. Washington State Department of Commerce is the agency to go back to when a date or a threshold changes, because a state can move either between program years.

Washington State Department of Commerce, delivered by local community action agencies and other local providers runs the federal heating grant in Washington. Applications run October 1 to September 30. Washington State Department of Commerce takes applications appointment with a local liheap provider.

LIHEAP

What it is called here

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Oct 1

The season opens

through Sep 30

150%

The income limit

of federal poverty level

Not separate

Crisis component

the one application covers an emergency

The answer

Heating assistance in Washington, in one screen

LIHEAP

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Run by: Washington State Department of Commerce, delivered by local community action agencies and other local providers
The season: Applications run October 1 to September 30.
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: Washington State Department of Commerce takes applications appointment with a local liheap provider.
By phone: 360-725-2857

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Washington State Department of Commerce

Commerce's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) aims to help low-income households in Washington state receive affordable, dependable utility services and avoid disconnection.

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Washington State Department of Commerce, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

A grant that Commerce says is almost always paid straight to the energy utility, one per program year, which can also cover repair or replacement of an unsafe or inoperative heating or cooling unit and open the door to weatherization.

Who qualifies

The LIHEAP income test in Washington

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.

The income limits are set at 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Washington State Department of Commerce, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

The other half

Whether Washington also stops the utility disconnecting

Once the household files, Nov 15 to Mar 15

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 Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission’s own words, is on the Washington winter shutoff page.

Next winter

Making the house cheaper to heat in Washington

Washington runs Weatherization Program through Washington State Department of Commerce. 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.

cost-effective energy efficiency repairs to reduce energy bills and increase home health, safety and durability for qualified homeowners and renters

Washington State Department of Commerce, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Weatherization Program in Washington

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.

Washington heating assistance questions

What is heating assistance called in Washington?

When can a household apply for heating assistance in Washington?

What is the income limit for LIHEAP in Washington?

How does a household apply in Washington?

Does Washington also stop a utility disconnecting heat in winter?

Is there help making the house cheaper to heat in Washington?

Is heating assistance in Washington a state program or a federal one?

Where does Washington publish its own heating assistance rules?

Icicles hanging in a row from the eaves of a low brick apartment building against a clear blue sky, with a balcony rail at the right edge — A renter whose heat is bundled into the rent can still qualify in most states, and is among the least likely to apply. Where a state sets its income test against the federal poverty level rather than state median income, the line can sit twenty points apart for the same household. “Icicles on the eaves of a house in Quebec City”, Wilfredor, CC0

Heating assistance in other states

Washington winter shutoff rulesWhether Washington bars a winter disconnection, and what a household has to do.Winter shutoff rules by stateWhether a window, a forecast or a filing decides it where you live.Heating oil and propane pricesWhat the fuel costs this week in the states that report it.Firewood cutting permitsWhere a permit lets a household cut its own firewood.Heating assistance in every stateThe program names, the opening dates and the income tests side by side.

Washington read September 23, 2026 from Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Washington State Department of Commerce, 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.