Assistance paying home energy bills
Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)
HEAP helps low-income individuals and families with the cost of heating their homes during the winter season. The online application opens annually on October 1 for the upcoming heating season. If you are a first-time applicant, you can apply in person at a local agency in your area or online. You will receive an application in the mail in subsequent years, and you can reapply by mail or online.
If you are denied assistance, you have the right to appeal through your local agency. For more information you can:
- visit the HEAP website,
- call the state hotline for social service programs by dialing 211, or
- call the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) Heatline at (800) 632-8175.
Arrearage management programs
Arrearage management programs provide financial assistance to eligible low‑income customers with active utility accounts that have outstanding or past due bills. Eligibility is limited to customers who have a minimum outstanding balance of $300 at least 60 days past due. When enrolled customers make a monthly payment, a portion of their past due balance will be eliminated or “forgiven,” reducing the amount they owe.
Additional information is available on the utilities’ respective websites:
Other assistance
If you are ineligible for the programs above, you may be eligible for help from the Salvation Army's Good Neighbor Energy Fund, which offers one-time grants for eligible consumers. Visit the Salvation Army’s Good Neighbor Energy Fund website to learn about the program and review the income eligibility guidelines.
To apply, contact your local Salvation Army Corps Community Center.
- If you live in area codes 508, 617, 781, or 978, call (800) 334-3047
- If you live in area code 413, call (800) 262-1320
Reducing monthly bill payment amount
Discount rates
You may be eligible for a discount rate from your utility if you receive public benefits from programs such as:
- ConnectorCare plan, types 1 and 2
- Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC)
- Fuel assistance or HEAP
- Health Safety Net – primary or secondary
- Head Start
- MassHealth - basic or standard (i.e., Medicaid)
- National School Lunch Program
- Public or subsidized housing
- Refugee resettlement benefits
- School Breakfast Program
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps)
- Supplemental Security Income
- Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC)
- Veteran Financial Benefits (MASSVETS)
- Veterans dependency & indemnity compensation for surviving parent or spouse
- Veterans non-service-connected disability pension
- Women, Infants & Children (WIC)
Those receiving MassHealth, SNAP, TAFDC, and/or EAEDC benefits automatically receive discounts without having to submit additional paperwork. Others seeking to enroll in the discounted rate may need to provide proof of benefits. Eligibility for the discounted rate is not limited to the programs listed above. If you enroll, you may receive a discount of 25-71% of your bill. The discount applies to the delivery portion of your bill.
Contact your gas or electric company to apply or learn more about the discount rates.
Budget billing
You can enroll in budget billing, a program in which your gas or electric company estimates your annual energy usage, divides that projected cost into 12 equal monthly payments, and bills you the same amount each month. In the 12th month, the company will reconcile your bill based on your actual usage. You will receive a credit (if you overpaid) or a bill (if you underpaid). The benefits of budget billing are to:
- Avoid seasonal bill hikes
- Make household budgeting easier
- Know how much your bill will be each month.
Energy prices and/or lifestyle changes may cause a change in your monthly budget payment. Your budget amount is reviewed every 3 months and adjusted if needed. Budget billing is open to all customers, and is not income-dependent. However, some utility companies do not allow customers with past due balances to enroll. Contact your utility company for more information or to enroll in budget billing:
Payment plan
If you are struggling to pay your monthly energy bills and have a past due balance, a payment plan can help catch you up. You will pay off overdue charges by making a set monthly payment in addition to your current bill. Contact your gas or electric company to set up a payment plan.
Community shared solar
You may be able to participate in a community solar program to lower your electric bill. Community solar, also known as community shared solar, allows consumers who are unable to install solar on their properties access to solar energy through community solar farms. If you are a community shared solar subscriber, you receive net metering credits or offsets towards your electric bill. These credits can range from 5-20% in annual savings. You can join a community shared solar facility as long as the project is not fully subscribed. Visit MassCEC’s community solar webpage to learn more and to find community shared solar projects in Massachusetts.
Review electric supply options
In Massachusetts, you can choose who provides your electric supply as long as you do not live in a municipality that is served by a municipal light plant. You can choose:
- basic service offered by your electric company,
- municipal aggregation if you live in a town that offers it, or
- a competitive supply product offered by a competitive supplier.
Depending on your choice, you can affect your monthly bill in meaningful ways, and it pays to consider your options. If you do not want to monitor your bill and the rate you will pay, we recommend that you select either the basic service or municipal aggregation option (if it is available to you).
- Basic service: Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil offer basic service rates to consumers that do not have a municipal aggregation or competitive supply product. Basic service is a commodity purchased on the open market every 6 months for residential customers. The cost of basic service is then passed on to customers. Your electric company does not make any profit from the basic service procurement. Visit the DPU’s basic service information and rates to learn more.
- Municipal aggregation: Municipal aggregation is the process by which a municipality (meaning a town or city) purchases electricity in bulk from a competitive supplier on behalf of the residents and businesses within the community. Municipal aggregation plans can have competitive rates for electricity supply and usually last longer than the 6-month basic service rate that residential customers receive. If you live in a city or town that has municipal aggregation, you may already be enrolled. View the list of cities and towns that offer municipal aggregations. You can also learn more about municipal aggregation on the municipal aggregation webpage.
- Competitive supply: Competitive suppliers offer a range of energy supply products in Massachusetts. Selecting a competitive supplier might save you money but you are not guaranteed savings relative to municipal aggregation or basic service. If you are currently using a competitive supplier, or if you are considering doing so, visit the DPU’s Energy Switch webpage to compare competitive supply products. Before signing up, be sure to understand:
- Whether you are signing up for a fixed or variable rate,
- What happens at the end of your contract,
- Whether there are any early termination fees.
- At the end of your initial contract, it is important that you review the next rate that you will pay since competitive suppliers often increase the rate at that point.
- While the DPU licenses competitive suppliers, we do not oversee or regulate how they set their supply product prices. If you have an issue with your competitive electricity supplier, please contact the DPU’s Consumer Division.
- To learn more about competitive supply, visit the Competitive electric supply product overview webpage.
Other resources regarding your utility bill
- Help saving energy: Information on steps you can take to reduce your energy bill
- Know your rights as a utility consumer: Information about the residential service shut‑off moratorium, billing and termination regulations, competitive supply rights, and electric sub-metering
- Understanding your electric bill: Information about the different charges on your electric bill and sample bills
- Understanding your gas bill: Information about the different charges on your gas bill and sample bills
- Massachusetts 2-1-1: Resources for utility assistance, food security, and more