Minnesota Energy Assistance Program 2026-27: How to Apply

For income limits in every state, see our LIHEAP income limits guide. Below is the Minnesota version.

EAP doesn't hand out cash grants. Payments go to your energy vendor, with one narrow exception for some renters described below.

Minnesota EAP 2026-27 at a Glance: 3 Kinds of Help

Minnesota's EAP has 3 parts in 2026-27, and Commerce's plan puts more of its money into crisis help than most states do. The FY2027 plan (Revision 1, accepted by ACF) budgets 46% for heating help, 21% for winter crisis, 10% for weatherization, 10% for administration, 8% for carryover and 5% for services that cut energy use.

Source: Minnesota FY2027 LIHEAP plan, sections 1.1, 2.6, 4.2 and 4.12.

The plan says Primary Heat and Crisis open once Minnesota receives its first federal award. ACF released that money on October 9, 2026, so the 2026-27 season can pay benefits now. Minnesota doesn't run a summer cooling program.

Minnesota EAP Income Limits for 2026-27 (50% of State Median Income)

Minnesota sets its line at 50% of state median income for households of 1 to 18 people, according to Commerce's FY2027 plan, which lists 50% for every household size. ACF's FY2027 table puts Minnesota's median for a family of four at $147,939, the highest in the region.

Method: Grantsights applied Commerce's 50% threshold to ACF's FY2027 Minnesota median income (opens in a new tab) ($147,939 for four) using ACF's household-size adjustments, rounding down to the dollar. These apply October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Confirm the exact figure for your household with your service provider, because Commerce's own guidelines page couldn't be opened on November 3, 2026.

When the limits change next. EAP's program year starts each October 1, and Commerce uses ACF's state median income figures, so expect new limits for October 1, 2027.

How income is counted. EAP counts gross income. The FFY27 policy manual's income appendix tells providers to use the complete month before the month you sign the application. Social Security recipients can print a benefit verification letter from their online SSA account, and the manual lets providers check Minnesota unemployment payments directly in eHEAT.

Who's in the household. Count everyone who lives at the address and shares energy costs. For food help, see our Minnesota SNAP guide, and for health coverage, our Minnesota Medicaid income limits guide.

How Much Minnesota EAP Pays: $200 to $1,400

Commerce's plan sets a $200 floor and a $1,400 ceiling for Primary Heat in 2026-27. The amount comes from Commerce's centralized eHEAT software, using these factors from the plan:

• Household income
• Household size
• Fuel type
• Your actual annual energy cost (or a fuel-cost average if your vendor can't supply it)

Lower income and higher bills push the award toward $1,400. Commerce asks your energy vendor for your usage, so you don't need a year of bills, but you do need to list every vendor and account number.

Crisis help. On top of Primary Heat, an eligible household with an energy emergency can get up to $600 in crisis funds. The plan lists these crisis reasons:

• Heat-related shutoff or disconnection notice
• Less than 20% in a fuel tank and the vendor refuses to deliver
• Less than one week of biofuel (wood, pellets)
• Non-heat electric shutoff or notice
• A senior with a past-due or current energy bill
• Less than 10 days left on prepaid energy

There's an order to it: the plan says crisis money comes only after your Primary Heat benefit fails to resolve the emergency. Crisis funds can pay down an arrearage with a propane dealer so it'll deliver again, but they can't leave a credit balance on the account.

Worked example. For example, a family of three in Minneapolis earning $4,500 a month, heating with CenterPoint gas and buying power from Xcel, falls under the roughly $5,177 monthly line for three. Their Primary Heat award would land somewhere between $200 and $1,400, depending on their annual costs. Say they then get a CenterPoint disconnection notice for $700 in February. If their benefit is already used up, crisis help could pay $600, leaving $100 for the family or another charity to cover. Separately, the Cold Weather Rule caps what the utility can demand under a payment agreement at 10% of household income: on $54,000 a year, that's $450 a month at most toward current and past heating bills.

Season Dates and Deadlines for 2026-27

Minnesota's application window is 8 months long, October 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027, and the plan adds these dates:

Dates that fall on a weekend or holiday move to the next business day, the plan says, except September 30.

Commerce mails applications first to returning households. The plan says Commerce sends applications to households that were EAP-eligible last year, starting with fixed-income households, since elderly and disabled residents often have fixed incomes. If you didn't get one, you can still apply.

Federal funding status. Minnesota's share of ACF's first FY2027 release is $111,266,556, according to ACF's state allotment table (opens in a new tab). ACF released that money on October 9, 2026 under a continuing resolution, Public Law 119-103, and says it equals 90% of the funds that law makes available. The full-year amount depends on what Congress passes next. Minnesota processes applications first come, first served, so waiting costs you.

How to Apply for Minnesota Energy Assistance in 4 Ways

Minnesota takes EAP applications 4 ways, according to the FY2027 plan: online, on paper by mail, in person at a local service provider, and, for crisis requests, by phone, fax or email.

1. Online. Start from the Department of Commerce's Energy Assistance Program page (opens in a new tab), which also lists local providers.
2. Paper. Print the application, fill it out and mail it to your local service provider. Returning households often get one in the mail.
3. In person. Local service providers, which the plan lists as community action agencies, nonprofits, county governments and tribal governments, take applications and can help you fill them out at home if you can't travel.
4. Crisis by phone. The plan says households can request crisis help by phone, fax, email, mail, online or in person, without leaving home.

Documents to have ready:

• Proof of gross income for everyone in the household for the month before you apply (pay stubs, Social Security or SSI letters, pension statements, unemployment records)
• Names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers for household members
• Account numbers for your heating and electric vendors
• A disconnection notice, final bill or fuel vendor statement if you're asking for crisis help
• Proof of homeownership if you're asking for furnace repair

Your provider will send a letter listing anything missing. Answer it fast; the sample denial letters in the FFY27 manual show applications denied when requested information isn't returned within 30 days.

How the money is paid. Primary Heat goes to your energy vendors. If heat is in your rent and you pay an electric bill, the plan pays your electric company first, up to your yearly electric cost or $400, whichever is greater, then mails any remaining benefit to you. Reimbursements for bills you already paid aren't allowed.

Cold Weather Rule and Crisis Response: The 48-Hour Clock

Minnesota providers must take action that resolves an energy crisis within 48 hours, and within 18 hours when it's life-threatening, according to Commerce's FY2027 plan. Life-threatening means no heat in the home, an unsafe indoor temperature and no backup heat source.

The Cold Weather Rule. Under Minnesota Statutes section 216B.096 (opens in a new tab), the cold weather period runs October 1 through April 30. During it:

The rule covers public utilities and, for complaints during the cold weather period, municipal utilities and electric co-ops under a separate statute. It doesn't cover propane or fuel oil dealers. The payment agreement ends with the cold weather period unless you and the utility agree to keep it going.

Furnace Repair and Weatherization: Help Beyond the Bill

Minnesota's FY2027 plan sends 10% of LIHEAP funds to weatherization and 5% to services that reduce energy needs, on top of Energy Related Repair.

Energy Related Repair (ERR). ERR is a crisis program for heating systems that don't heat, don't distribute heat, malfunction, or have safety problems such as carbon monoxide. The rules from the plan:

• You must own the home. Landlords are responsible for heat in rental units.
• The home needs electrical service adequate to run the heating system. ERR's electrical work is limited to the dedicated circuit and thermostat wiring for the furnace.
• ERR can pay for related costs such as gas line installation, fuel tanks and duct work when a fuel switch is medically necessary.
• ERR can be started through July 1, 2027.

Weatherization. The Minnesota Energy Assistance Programs application doubles as your application for weatherization and utility conservation programs, the plan says. Insulation and air sealing cut every future bill, so check the box. For bigger repairs, see our home repair grants guide.

Minnesota's FY2027 LIHEAP Dollars Per Resident

Minnesota's first FY2027 release is $111,266,556, according to ACF's October 9, 2026 table. Grantsights analysis of that ACF table and Census Bureau July 1, 2025 population estimates found Minnesota received $19.08 per resident, 9th of the 50 states and D.C., and about 83% above the $10.44 national average.

Sources: ACF Minnesota and neighbor allotments, FY2027 first release (opens in a new tab); Census Bureau Vintage 2025 state population estimates (opens in a new tab). Rank excludes territories.

Specifically, Minnesota's $19.08 per resident is $2.31 more than Wisconsin's $16.77 and $2.96 more than Iowa's $16.12. Applying the plan's split, about $51.2 million (46%) of this release is for heating help and about $23.4 million (21%) for winter crisis. That crisis share is unusually large, which is good news if you're facing a shutoff. Neighbors can compare with our Wisconsin WHEAP guide and our Iowa LIHEAP guide.

What Commerce's EAP Page Doesn't Tell You

Commerce's public page covers the basics, but 6 details sit in the plan, manual and statute.

1. Minnesota's line is stricter than its neighbors'. At 50% of median, Minnesota's four-person cutoff is about $73,969, while 60% of the same median would be $88,763. If your income is near the line, apply anyway and let eHEAT decide; one bad month can work for or against you.
2. Crisis comes after Primary Heat. You can't skip straight to the $600 crisis award. If your heat benefit already covers the emergency, no crisis money is used.
3. The Cold Weather Rule needs your action. Protection depends on a payment agreement. Call the utility the day a notice arrives and say you're on EAP.
4. Seniors get a crisis reason others don't. A senior with a past-due or even current energy bill can qualify for crisis help without a shutoff notice.
5. Propane customers need to watch 20%. The crisis trigger is under 20% plus a refusal to deliver, not an empty tank. Call before you run dry.
6. Your EAP approval feeds other discounts. The plan says the application's consent section lets utilities such as Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy use EAP data to enroll recipients in affordability and conservation programs. Ask your utility what you now qualify for.

Common Mistakes and Energy Scam Red Flags

These 5 errors cost Minnesota households time or money, based on Commerce's plan and manual:

• Sending the wrong month's income. The manual uses the full month before you sign. Pay stubs from two months back don't count.
• Ignoring a request for information. A common mistake is setting the letter aside; the manual's sample letters show denials when papers don't come back within 30 days.
• Paying a furnace contractor first. ERR pays the contractor through your provider. Call before work starts.
• Thinking the Cold Weather Rule erases the debt. It doesn't. Underestimate the May balance and you could face a shutoff once the period ends April 30.
• Waiting until May. EAP is first come, first served, so the last weeks are the riskiest time to apply.

Scam red flags. The FTC's page on scammers posing as utility companies (opens in a new tab) says a demand for payment by gift card, wire, crypto or payment app is a sign of a scam. In Minnesota, watch for:

• A caller threatening to cut your Xcel or CenterPoint heat within the hour in January, when the Cold Weather Rule requires written notice first
• Anyone charging a fee to submit an EAP application, which is free
• A text claiming you've been "pre-approved" for an energy grant paid to your bank account
• A website asking for your Social Security number that isn't linked from Commerce or your local provider

Call your utility back on the number printed on your statement, and report the attempt at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (opens in a new tab).

Denied or Funds Run Out: 4 Next Steps in Minnesota

Minnesota gives you 30 days from the date you receive your notification letter to appeal, according to the FY2027 plan, and there are 3 levels.

1. Local appeal. Write to your service provider within 30 days. The sample letters in the FFY27 manual say the provider must respond in writing within 14 days of getting your request, and you can call the provider for help writing it.
2. State appeal. If you disagree with the provider's answer, appeal to Commerce, which investigates and responds in writing.
3. Hearing. The last level is a hearing with an administrative law judge, who sends a recommendation to the Commissioner of Commerce.
4. Look past EAP. Dial 211 for local fuel funds and the Salvation Army. Ask your utility about its own hardship programs and a Cold Weather Rule plan. Our rental assistance guide, emergency cash assistance guide, help for seniors guide and Lifeline guide cover the next layer of help.

For how LIHEAP works nationally, see our national LIHEAP guide.

If you want a quick read on which programs fit your household, the free eligibility checker on Grantsights takes a few minutes. Select "Individual" and then "Personal financial help" to see official bill, rent, food and benefits-screening routes for Minnesota, not grants. For a Minnesota heating bill, it sends you to your EAP service provider.

Sources

1. Minnesota Department of Commerce: approved FY2027 LIHEAP plan (opens in a new tab) - benefit range, crisis maximum, dates, 50% SMI threshold, appeals
2. LIHEAP Clearinghouse (ACF-funded): Minnesota FY2027 plan, Revision 1 (opens in a new tab) - fund split as accepted by ACF
3. Minnesota Department of Commerce: Energy Assistance Program (opens in a new tab)
4. Minnesota Department of Commerce: FFY27 EAP Policy Manual, online income documentation appendix (opens in a new tab)
5. Minnesota Department of Commerce: FFY27 EAP Policy Manual, eHEAT letter examples (opens in a new tab) - appeal and missing-information timelines
6. Minnesota Statutes section 216B.096, Cold Weather Rule (opens in a new tab)
7. ACF: LIHEAP state median income table, FY2027 (opens in a new tab) - Minnesota median income
8. ACF: FFY 2027 first LIHEAP block grant release, covering Minnesota (opens in a new tab)
9. ACF: FY2027 first release, state allotments (opens in a new tab) - Minnesota $111,266,556
10. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 state population estimates (opens in a new tab)
11. FTC: utility impostor scam warning, cited for Minnesota (opens in a new tab)