Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

DO YOU NEED HELP PAYING FOR YOUR HOUSEHOLD ENERGY COSTS?

LIHEAP provides assistance to eligible low-income households to manage and meet their immediate home heating and/or cooling needs.

WHAT KIND OF ASSISTANCE DO YOU NEED?

LIHEAP offers several kinds of services to help low-income households meet their home energy needs. These services include:

• The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) provides one-time financial assistance to help offset an eligible household’s energy costs (utility bill).
• The Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP) provides assistance to low-income households that are in a crisis situation. Examples include a household that has received a 24- to 48-hour disconnect notice or service termination by its utility company or a household facing an energy-related crisis of life-threatening emergency in the applicant’s household, including a combustible appliance.
• LIHEAP Weatherization provides free energy efficiency upgrades to low-income households to lower their monthly utility bills, while improving the health and safety of the household’s occupants. Click here to find out more about Weatherization services offered in California.
• Another service offered as a component to other LIHEAP services includes energy budget counseling, education on basic energy efficiency practices and instruction on the proper use and maintenance of installed weatherization measures.

LIHEAP HIGHLIGHT

 SOLAR FOR ALL CALIFORNIA

While middle and upper-income households have been able to take advantage of incentives and special financing options to install solar systems on their homes, these options remain beyond the economic reach for many low-income households. A study released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stressed the need for greater access to available options for low-income households to reduce energy costs. This study reported low-income households can spend as high as 16.4 percent of their income on residential energy services, while an average household spends just 7.2 percent.

CSD’s Solar For All California pilot program was designed to help address this disparity by installing rooftop photovoltaic solar systems on the homes of more than 1,000 low-income families throughout California at no cost to the resident. This provides a long-term solution for low-income households to reduce their energy costs. 

The Solar For All California pilot program was honored with a 2012 Green California Leadership Award for energy innovation during the Green California Summit. The CSD program uses innovative funding solutions through federal funding, state rebates and creative partnerships to address unequal access to residential solar energy for low-income families.

• Learn More About CSD's Solar For All California Pilot Program