HEAP Ohio: Energy Assistance, PIPP Plus and Switching Suppliers

What is HEAP in Ohio, and who may qualify?

The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) is a federally funded program that gives eligible Ohioans a one-time benefit toward their home energy bills. The benefit is applied directly to your utility bill or your bulk fuel bill, such as propane or oil.

Since April 6, 2026, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has run HEAP and PIPP Plus. The Ohio Department of Development's energy assistance page now points to ODJFS and says the application process did not change.

ODJFS says a household of eight or fewer qualifies with income at or below 175 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Households of nine or more use 60 percent of State Median Income instead, and renters qualify as well as owners. ODJFS lists dollar limits by household size for July 2026 through May 2027, and they change each year, so read its current table.

You report gross income, which is income before taxes, for every member of the household. ODJFS asks for the past 30 days, and prefers 12 months, and it leaves out wages earned by dependents under 18.

Your benefit depends on household income, the fuel you heat with, where you live in Ohio, and PIPP Plus. ODJFS says households in both programs get a 75 percent HEAP reduction. Its state plan adds a weighted benefit for homes with someone age 60 or older, a documented disability, or a child age five or younger, and says a utility customer may still owe any cost above the benefit.

When do Ohio energy assistance applications open?

ODJFS's HEAP page gives no application opening date. It says the benefit may reach your main heating account as early as October, and it asks you to allow 90 days for a regular HEAP or PIPP Plus application. Its application page says a completed application can take up to 12 weeks.

The state plan for the federal fiscal year October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 lists HEAP heating assistance from October 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027.

The table covers the 2026-27 season. ODJFS and PUCO set new dates each year, so look for the current ones next season.

ODJFS says the Winter Crisis Program, part of HEAP, helps income-eligible households that face disconnection, have been disconnected, need to set up service, or have 25 percent or less bulk fuel in the tank. Either crisis program needs an appointment with your local provider.

How do you apply for HEAP and PIPP Plus in Ohio?

ODJFS lists three ways to apply for its energy assistance programs. Local energy assistance providers, which are community action agencies and nonprofits, serve all 88 counties, according to the ODJFS plan.

• Online. You need an OHID account and the Energy Assistance Portal tile. ODJFS says the portal works on a computer with Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge, and not currently on a phone or tablet.
• By appointment. Apply in person or by phone through your local energy assistance provider. ODJFS has a providers map to find yours.
• By mail. Send your application and papers to your local provider. You can print the form from ODJFS, or pick one up at your provider or at an Area Agency on Aging.

ODJFS says to have these ready: proof of income for each household member, copies of your recent utility bills, a list of household members with Social Security numbers and birth dates, and proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residency for each person. Sign the form, because an unsigned one delays the process.

To check the status of an application, use EnergyHelp.Ohio.gov if you applied online. If you applied on paper or in person, call your local provider. PUCO's Call Center, (800) 686-7826, takes questions about assistance programs.

What is PIPP Plus, and how do its payments work?

The Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus (PIPP Plus) sets your utility payment as a share of your income instead of the full bill. ODJFS now calls the program PIPP, while PUCO and Ohio's rules still say PIPP Plus. This page uses PIPP Plus.

ODJFS says that if you heat with gas, you pay 5 percent of your gross household income for gas and 5 percent for electric. If you heat with electric, you pay 10 percent. The state subsidizes the rest of the bill, and the minimum payment is $10. The payment is the same all year.

Here is a made-up case. A household with gas heat and gross income of $1,200 a month would pay $60 for gas and $60 for electric, which is $120 in all.

PUCO says that when you pay your PIPP Plus amount on time and in full, a portion of your past-due balance and the rest of that month's bill is forgiven as a credit. ODJFS adds that 24 on-time, in-full payments eliminate your outstanding balance.

ODJFS says you must re-verify your income each year and be caught up on payments by your anniversary date, the date you signed up. Missing a payment, not re-verifying, or not reporting a change in income or household members can get you dropped. To qualify, your household income must be at or below 175 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and you must be served by an electric or natural gas company that PUCO regulates.

Can you switch energy suppliers if you are in PIPP Plus?

Generally, no. PUCO's Apples to Apples notice says: "if you are currently enrolled in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP PLUS), you are not eligible to enroll with or switch to an alternate supplier" (Apples to Apples chart). PUCO's FAQ says the same of customers in energy assistance programs such as PIPP.

• Suppliers. An electric supplier is "prohibited from knowingly enrolling PIPP and arrearage crediting program customers" (OAC 4901:1-21-06).
• Utilities. An electric utility "shall not switch PIPP and graduate PIPP program customers to CRES providers" (OAC 4901:1-10-29). CRES providers are electric suppliers with a PUCO certificate; the letters stand for competitive retail electric service.
• Gas. A gas supplier may not enroll a customer who has not paid, or made a plan to pay, existing arrears with the gas utility, and the rule names PIPP Plus customers (OAC 4901:1-29-06).

Ohio law has PUCO group PIPP customers' electricity into a competitive auction, so that supply is bought for them rather than chosen by them (Ohio Revised Code 4928.54). The rules still name the Ohio development services agency as coordinator, though ODJFS now runs the program.

What happens to your supplier contract when PIPP Plus is approved?

For electricity, the rule moves you off the supplier and onto your utility's standard offer, which is the default service you get when you choose no supplier. The steps below follow OAC 4901:1-10-29.

1. You have a supplier contract, or a supplier enrollment is still pending, and you are approved for PIPP Plus.
2. A pending enrollment is not completed. The rule says the customer shall not be switched to the supplier.
3. If you already switched, the utility moves you to standard offer service at the next regularly scheduled meter read date after it learns you are in PIPP Plus.
4. The utility tells your supplier within ten business days after it moves you.

Under the utility rule, any switching fees are added to your past-due balance, not your current charges. The supplier rule says such customers shall not be assessed switching fees, in a paragraph that applies until the state agency has a system in place to run the low-income programs. Ask your utility which applies to you. The gas rules we read do not say what happens to a customer already under a supplier contract.

What protects you from disconnection if you fall behind?

Your utility can disconnect for nonpayment all year, including in winter. These protections give you ways to stay connected (PUCO's Electric Customers' Bill of Rights).

• Notice. The utility must give at least 14 days' notice first. From November 1 through April 15 it must also make contact again ten days before the disconnection, and tell you that help paying bills is available (OAC 4901:1-18-06).
• Payment plans. PUCO says electric companies must offer certain plans, which can include the 1/3, 1/6 and 1/9 extended plans, PIPP Plus or a budget plan. PUCO says the extended plans are open to every residential customer.
• Medical certificate. A certified health care professional can certify that losing service would be especially dangerous to health, and the utility can then keep or restore service for 30 days. PUCO says a household can use it three times in a rolling 12 months.
• Bill disputes. A utility cannot disconnect for an amount in bona fide dispute if you have registered a complaint with the PUCO Call Center or filed a formal complaint.

The Special Reconnect Order is PUCO's yearly winter order. For 2026-27 it runs from October 12, 2026 to April 16, 2027, and any residential customer of a PUCO-regulated electric or gas utility may use it once per heating season (PUCO's news release). You pay no more than $175, plus any reconnection charge up to $36, to keep or restore service, whatever you owe. There is no income test and no sign-up: you contact your utility and ask for the order.

PUCO says you must then enroll in an extended payment plan for the rest of what you owe. A household at or below 175 percent of the federal poverty guidelines may apply to HEAP's Winter Crisis Program to cover the $175. For a shutoff question, call your utility, then the PUCO Call Center at (800) 686-7826.

Where else can you get help with your electric bill in Ohio?

PUCO's utility assistance page lists more programs. Among them are HeatShare funds, which PUCO says the Salvation Army administers to help qualifying households, typically from January to May or until funds run out. The funds differ by utility: PUCO names AEP's Neighbor to Neighbor, AES Ohio's Gift of Power, Columbia Gas of Ohio's HeatShare, Enbridge's Heat Care and Duke Energy Ohio's Share the Light Fund.

To understand a jump in your bill, read why your electric bill may be so high in Ohio, or see what the average electric bill in Ohio looks like.

How do switching suppliers and assistance programs interact?

Each item below is a fact from ODJFS, PUCO or Ohio's rules, not a recommendation. We are not PUCO, not your utility and not an assistance provider, and we do not take applications for any program.

We are a broker. Suppliers pay us a commission when a household enrolls, and we also charge a service fee. There's no cost to check, and you see the fee terms in your offer.

• PIPP Plus customers cannot enroll with or switch to a supplier. Approval while under an electric supplier contract moves you to the utility's standard offer at the next regular meter read.
• The rules we read name PIPP Plus, not HEAP. PUCO's FAQ speaks of energy assistance programs in general, so ask PUCO at (800) 686-7826 how your own program affects your choice.
• ODJFS says HEAP is applied to your utility or bulk fuel bill. Its page does not say how a benefit applies to a supplier's charges, so ask your local energy assistance provider.
• A supplier cannot cause or threaten a disconnection of your distribution service because of contract nonpayment or termination (OAC 4901:1-21-03). Its contract must still say that unpaid utility charges may lead to disconnection (OAC 4901:1-21-12).

If you are not in PIPP Plus, a supplier offer is an offer, not assistance. Keeping the default can make sense if no offer, once its fees are counted, is priced under the price to compare your utility shows, or if an exit fee would cancel out a small gap. A supplier contract can be ended before its term is up, though a fee for leaving early may apply.

Your electric bill lists a price to compare, which stands in for the default supply rate when you weigh an offer. Read how to switch your electric supplier and fixed rate electricity in Ohio before you sign, and see our guide to energy scams if a caller offers to lower your rates. Our Apples to Apples guide explains PUCO's chart of supplier offers, and our Ohio energy choice overview explains who can shop.