Help paying the gas or electric bill in Missouri: how LIHEAP works

Missouri runs a program that pays part of a household's heating or cooling bill, and a second part of the same program helps when a shutoff notice arrives. The Missouri Department of Social Services runs both under one name, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, shortened to LIHEAP.

The two kinds of help

Energy Assistance is a one-time payment toward the heating or cooling costs for one fuel type, the one your home runs on. The state takes these applications from October through May.

The Energy Crisis Intervention Program covers a household that has a termination notice from the utility company or is running out of fuel. Missouri calls it ECIP. It runs in two seasons, and each one has its own top amount:

• Winter ECIP, November through May, depending on funding. The most a household can get is $800.
• Summer ECIP, June through September. The most a household can get is $300.

The local agencies that handle LIHEAP applications can also provide emergency services, and the state lists blankets, emergency lodging, repair or replacement of a heating or cooling unit, window air conditioners, and wood stoves among them.

Who qualifies

The Department of Social Services lists these requirements:

• You live in Missouri.
• You're the one responsible for paying the utility bill.
• You're a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident.
• Your household income is at or under the state's published limit, which is set by household size. The limits are in the state's Benefit Program Limit Chart, linked from the LIHEAP page.
• You have $3,000 or less in bank accounts, retirement accounts and investments combined.

How to apply

There are two ways in. You can fill out the application online, in English or Spanish, through the state's LIHEAP page. Or you can print the application and mail it or carry it in to the contracted agency that serves your county. A contracted agency is a local organization that takes LIHEAP applications for the state, and the state publishes the list of them on the same page.

The state says an application is reviewed within about 30 business days, and that timeline doesn't apply when the state considers the application a crisis, such as a household with a shutoff notice.

If you have a question about your application, the Family Support Division's line is 855-373-4636 (855-FSD-INFO).

Local help with bills

LIHEAP is one statewide program, and each county also has its own places that help with bills. Those change from county to county, so they don't fit in one statewide article. The county directory that Nexus Point Family Foundation built puts them in a section called utilities and financial help. Jackson County's page has 21 entries in that section, and each one gives the address, phone number and opening times.

Your next step

Open your county's page in the Missouri county directory and go to the utilities and financial help section, where each place near you has its phone number and hours.

Sources

• Missouri Department of Social Services, Help with Heating and Cooling (LIHEAP): https://dss.mo.gov/utility-assistance/liheap. Supports both program parts, the October to May window, ECIP seasons and the $800 and $300 maximums, emergency services list, all five eligibility rules, the $3,000 resource limit, online and paper application, the 30 business day review, and the 855-373-4636 number.
• Missouri Department of Social Services, Utility Assistance: https://dss.mo.gov/energy-assistance. Supports that DSS runs LIHEAP and that it includes emergency help for households in crisis.
• Nexus Point Family Foundation, Family Resources in Missouri by County: https://nexuspointfamily.org/help/missouri. Supports the county directory link.
• Nexus Point Family Foundation, Jackson County page: https://nexuspointfamily.org/help/missouri/jackson. Supports the "Utilities & financial help" category name and that entries carry address, phone number and hours.