Utility and heating bill assistance programs in Michigan
This page is a plain-English guide to the various programs that can help residents with their utility bills. It covers state run options, income-based payment plans from the energy companies as well as other programs.
Michigan routes most of its energy assistance through one state application process, which is unusual and worth understanding before calling anyone. One application for State Emergency Relief, filed on the MI Bridges website, also connects households to the Michigan Energy Assistance Program. A separate benefit, the Home Heating Credit, is claimed on a short tax form even by people who file no other return, and it must be postmarked by September 30 each year.
The utility companies offer their own programs in addition to the state ones. DTE Energy and Consumers Energy each run an income-based payment plan that can cap monthly bills and gradually clear old debt for customers who qualify, while smaller companies, rural cooperatives, and city utilities offer payment arrangements of their own. State rules also give seniors, medically fragile households, and active-duty military families ways to stop a winter shutoff. This guide explains each program, who tends to qualify, and the phone number or website to use.
Start with State Emergency Relief (SER)
State Emergency Relief is Michigan's year-round crisis program for households whose heat or electricity is past due, shut off, or about to be. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services may pay enough of the bill to keep service on, or restore it, for at least thirty days while a longer-term solution is worked out. SER also covers deliverable fuels, so a family about to run out of propane, fuel oil, or wood can apply the same way.
Apply online through MI Bridges at https://newmibridges.michigan.gov, in person at your county MDHHS office, or by calling 855-275-6424 for help getting started. There is an income test and an asset test, and some households pay a required co-payment before SER money is released. Program details are on the MDHHS site at https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/assistance-programs/emergency-relief/heatutilities. Applying for SER matters even if the request is denied or the payment is small, because most MEAP agencies want to see an SER application on file before they add their own help.
Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP)
MEAP is the state's main supplemental energy program, and it does more than pay one bill. Grantee agencies may pay down arrears, enroll qualified households in an affordable payment plan with their utility, and provide budgeting and self-sufficiency services meant to keep the same family from being in crisis again next winter. The program is funded by the Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund, a small charge collected on electric meters each month.
Each year various organizations hold the MEAP grants for the program year that begins each October, and money can run out before the year ends, so applying early matters. The grantees who work directly with households can be found at https://newmibridges.michigan.gov/s/isd-find-community-partners.
The Michigan Public Service Commission oversees MEAP and posts the current grantee fact sheets at https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/consumer/energy-assistance. A small number of utilities have opted out of the funding surcharge and run their own local assistance instead, which is noted where it applies in the company listings on this page.
Local community action agencies may also help with MEAP applications, through the state's Bureau of Community Action and Economic Opportunity — find yours through the NHPB list of community action agencies in Michigan assistance programs.
Home Heating Credit — file by September 30
The Home Heating Credit is heating help delivered through the tax system, funded by the federal LIHEAP block grant, and it is one of the easiest benefits in Michigan to miss. A renter or homeowner files form MI-1040CR-7 with the Michigan Department of Treasury, with or without a regular income tax return. A qualifying household can receive a credit that is usually sent straight to its heat provider as an energy draft. Eligibility depends on household income, exemptions, and heating costs, so many working families can qualify, not only those on public assistance.
The claim for each heating year must be postmarked by September 30 of the following year, and the state grants no extensions, so a household that misses the date loses that year's credit entirely. Forms and e-file options are at https://www.michigan.gov/taxes, or call Treasury's individual income tax line at 517-636-4486. The NHPB guide to the Home Heating Credit and Weatherization Michigan explains the application in more detail, and it also covers the free Weatherization Assistance Program that insulates and air-seals homes to lower future bills.
Shutoff protections every Michigan utility must follow
Michigan law and Public Service Commission rules give struggling customers several protections, and they apply across regulated utilities, rural electric cooperatives, alternative electric suppliers, and municipal electric companies.
Winter Protection Plan (WPP). From November 1 through March 31, an enrolled customer who keeps to the plan's terms cannot be shut off for nonpayment. Seniors 65 and older qualify regardless of income and are not required to make set monthly payments during the season, though whatever they skip still comes due later. Other households qualify if they receive MDHHS cash or food assistance or Medicaid, or if income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Enrolled low-income customers pay 7 percent of their estimated annual bill each month, plus installments on any old balance. When the season ends, everyone catches up on the deferred amount between April and November. Enroll directly with your utility company each fall.
Medical emergency protection. A shutoff can be postponed for up to 21 days when someone in the home has a medical condition that losing service would make worse, certified by a physician or public health office on the MPSC medical certification form. The hold can be extended, and service that was already shut off can be restored at no cost while it lasts. A separate critical care designation adds protection for households running life-support equipment. The form is available from your utility or at https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/regulatory/medical-certification-form.
Active-duty military protection. When a customer or their spouse is called to full-time active duty during a declared emergency or war, the household can request shutoff protection for up to 90 days, and extensions can be requested, followed by a repayment plan spread over twelve months.
If a utility is not honoring these rules, or a shutoff seems improper, contact the Michigan Public Service Commission at 800-292-9555 or start at https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/gethelp, which gathers every assistance and protection option in one place.
DTE Energy
DTE serves southeast Michigan with electricity and much of the state with natural gas, which makes it the company many Michigan households in crisis need to call. Its main program is the Low-Income Self-Sufficiency Plan (LSP), a payment plan for households with income at or below 60 percent of the state median. LSP sets an affordable fixed monthly payment based on income and usage, and it freezes the past-due balance. Old debt is then forgiven in stages as the customer keeps paying, and state energy assistance dollars may lower the bill further. Enrollment runs through the MEAP and energy assistance agencies named on this page rather than through DTE directly, and openings depend on available funding.
DTE also offers the Shutoff Protection Plan for customers of any income, senior winter protection, medical and military protections, and an Energy Efficiency Assistance program that installs free energy-saving measures. Call 800-477-4747 or start at https://dteenergy.com/help, and NHPB's overview of Detroit Edison - DTE low income assistance programs walks through each option.
Consumers Energy
Consumers Energy supplies gas and electricity across most of the lower peninsula, and it offers a structured affordability plan alongside a long-running charity partnership. The CARE program, short for Consumers Affordable Resource for Energy, offers income-qualified customers a lower fixed monthly bill, freezes the past-due balance, and reduces that balance month by month as payments arrive on time. CARE enrollment is handled by the MEAP agencies, including THAW, the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, TrueNorth, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and local community action agencies. Consumers Energy keeps the current enrollment contacts at https://www.consumersenergy.com/residential/programs-and-services/payment-assistance/care-program.
PeopleCare is the company's emergency fund, running since 1983 and administered by The Salvation Army, whose caseworkers may apply bill credits and short-term aid for households that fall between other programs. Apply through your local Salvation Army office. For payment plans, senior services, and shutoff protections, call Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050, and the NHPB guide to Consumer Energy Michigan assistance programs has the full picture.
Other regulated gas and electric companies
Indiana Michigan Power serves about 130,000 customers in the southwest corner of the state. Michigan customers should ask I&M about payment arrangements and the Average Monthly Payment plan. Grant requests should go through SER, MEAP, or the Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency instead. The company's own hardship fund, the Neighbor to Neighbor Program run by Dollar Energy Fund, serves only its Indiana customers. Call 800-311-6424 in Michigan or visit https://www.indianamichiganpower.com, and NHPB's page on help with paying Indiana Michigan Power bills covers both states.
SEMCO Energy Gas Company delivers natural gas to roughly 300,000 customers in pockets of the southern lower peninsula and across the central and western UP. SEMCO offers installment agreements, short payment extensions, the Winter Protection Plan, and a Monthly Assistance Program that MEAP agencies such as THAW can enroll qualified customers into. Call 800-624-2019 or see https://www.semcoenergygas.com, with more detail in the NHPB page on Semco Energy assistance programs.
Michigan Gas Utilities serves natural gas customers around Monroe, Benton Harbor, Grand Haven, Otsego, and Coldwater. The company offers payment arrangements, the Winter Protection Plan, and medical and military protections, and it partners with the Salvation Army on donation-funded emergency help. Call 800-401-6402 or visit https://www.michigangasutilities.com/payment-bill/assistance, and the NHPB listing of Michigan Gas Utilities assistance programs lists each option.
Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) serves much of the western and central UP. UPPCO's assistance page walks customers through the Winter Protection Plan, medical and critical care holds, military protection, and a screening tool built with the UP 211 call center. Call 906-449-2013 or start at https://www.uppco.com/residential/help-with-your-energy-bill.
Upper Michigan Energy Resources (UMERC), the We Energies company serving former Wisconsin Electric and Wisconsin Public Service territory in the UP, mails customers an annual notice of the same state protections plus its own payment arrangements. Call 800-242-9137 or visit https://www.uppermichiganenergy.com.
Alpena Power Company serves about 16,700 customers in the Alpena area of northeast Michigan. The company posts its senior Winter Protection application each fall, offers a Budget Plan that levels payments across the year, and takes payment arrangements at 989-358-4900, option 1. Its website is https://www.alpenapower.com.
A few smaller regulated companies also serve Michigan households, including Citizens Gas Fuel Company in the Adrian area at 800-982-2831, Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op in the northeast lower peninsula at 800-423-6634, and Xcel Energy in a slice of the western UP at 800-895-4999. Every regulated gas company in the state, with a current customer service number, is listed by the MPSC at https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/consumer/natural-gas/gas-utilities-in-michigan.
Electric cooperatives
Michigan's rural electric cooperatives follow the same winter protection framework, and each runs payment arrangements through its own member services line. A caution about the round-up funds many co-ops advertise: some pay member bills and some do not, so read each fund's rules before relying on it.
HomeWorks Tri-County Electric Cooperative, formerly known as Tri-County Electric, serves portions of mid-Michigan. Its Tri-County People Fund, filled by members who round up their bills, makes grants, as funds allow, to individuals and families in the service area, including for heating bills, and applicants do not have to be members. Call 800-562-8232 or download the application at https://www.homeworks.org.
Great Lakes Energy, the state's largest cooperative, serves 26 counties along western and northern lower Michigan. Its People Fund is different: those round-up dollars go to community nonprofits, not to individual electric bills, so members behind on payments should instead call the co-op about payment plans and winter protection and apply through SER and MEAP. Reach Great Lakes Energy at 888-485-2537 or https://www.gtlakes.com.
Cloverland Electric Cooperative serves the eastern UP, including Chippewa, Delta, Luce, Mackinac, and Schoolcraft counties. Cloverland keeps a billing assistance page pointing members to SER, MEAP agencies, and its own arrangements, and its rate book includes winter protection for both seniors and low-income members. Call 800-562-4953 or visit https://www.cloverland.com.
Other member-owned co-ops, including Cherryland, Midwest Energy & Communications, Thumb Electric, Ontonagon County REA, and Alger Delta, publish the same annual notice of heating season protections. Call the number on your bill and ask specifically about the Winter Protection Plan and any hardship fund the co-op supports.
Municipal utilities
City-owned electric utilities are covered by the state law that bars heating-season shutoffs for enrolled seniors and for customers on a 7 percent winter payment plan, so the protections in this guide apply even where the city is the power company.
Lansing Board of Water & Light customers who are struggling can ask about a winter protection payment plan and are eligible for MEAP funding through the agencies on this page. The BWL's Pennies for Power fund, filled by customer donations, may provide one-time shutoff protection help for Lansing-area households who are struggling. Call BWL customer service at 517-702-6006 or see https://www.lbwl.com/pennies.
Coldwater Board of Public Utilities opted out of the statewide energy assistance surcharge and built a local Low-Income Assistance Program instead, for heat and electric bills at primary residences with household income at or below 60 percent of the state median. Applications run through the MDHHS office in Coldwater at 517-279-4200, which also refers people to the Jacobs Well ministry. CBPU customer service at 517-279-9531 can set up payment plans directly. Details are at https://www.coldwatermi.gov/1828/Customer-Care-Programs.
Customers of other municipal systems, such as Holland, Wyandotte, Marquette, Traverse City, or Grand Haven, should call the utility office at city hall and ask about senior winter protection, payment plans, and which local agency handles energy assistance for their accounts.
Charities and other statewide help
The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) is Michigan's largest energy charity and a MEAP grantee, distributing emergency utility help statewide, as funding allows, through a network of partner agencies. THAW also runs MI Water, which may pay past-due water bills and fund small plumbing repairs, depending on available funds. Call the utility assistance center at 800-866-8429 or apply at https://thawfund.org, and the NHPB guide to Michigan Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) assistance programs explains how the screening works.
The Salvation Army takes utility bill requests at more than ninety Michigan service locations. It uses its own funds, administers Consumers Energy PeopleCare, and holds one of the MEAP grants, and caseworkers pair any bill payment with budget counseling and referrals. Call 800-725-2769 or find your nearest office through https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org, and see NHPB's page on Salvation Army utility assistance in Michigan.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul conferences take utility requests across much of the state, and the Detroit archdiocese council is a MEAP grantee that processes energy applications online at https://svdpdetroit.org or by phone at 877-788-4623.
The Michigan Veterans Trust Fund can make emergency grants, including for utility bills, to wartime-era veterans and to peacetime veterans 65 and older facing a temporary hardship they can otherwise recover from. Apply through your county veteran services office or call 800-642-4838, with details at https://www.michigan.gov/mvtf.
Water bills have their own set of programs, including THAW's MI Water and the MDHHS Water Assistance Program run through community action agencies. The NHPB page on help with water bills in Michigan covers both.
Michigan residents also share current information with each other in the utility bill section of the NHPB community forum - see the moderated MI utility assistance forum thread page. If nothing on this page fits your situation, dialing 211 is a final fallback that can point to smaller county funds as they open and close.
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