How to Fill Out and Submit the Pennsylvania PCAP Program Application

To apply for the Pennsylvania PCAP program, residential customers of Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, or West Penn Power complete a two-page enrollment form, attach proof of income for everyone in the household, and send it to Dollar Energy Fund, which processes applications on FirstEnergy’s behalf.¹ Once you’re enrolled, your monthly bill is recalculated as a small percentage of your household income, past-due balances are gradually forgiven, and late fees and security deposits go away.

Check That You Qualify

PCAP is for residential customers whose total gross household income is at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.¹ The account has to be active, in your name, and tied to the address where you actually live. Commercial accounts and vacation properties are out.

Two conditions come attached. You have to agree to apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) if you’re eligible, and you have to agree to participate in FirstEnergy’s WARM weatherization program if eligible.² LIHEAP is a separate state cash grant toward heating bills, and WARM sends an energy educator to install insulation, weatherstripping, and other efficiency improvements at no cost.³ Neither costs you anything.

2026 Income Limits

Count gross income — before taxes and deductions — for every adult and child in the home, from every source: wages, Social Security, pensions, unemployment, self-employment. The 2026 limits for Pennsylvania are:⁴

1 person: $23,940
2 people: $32,460
3 people: $40,980
4 people: $49,500
5 people: $58,020
6 people: $66,540

Each additional household member adds $8,520.

Gather Your Documents First

Pull together income proof for every household member before you start writing on the form. The application lists what’s accepted for each type of income:²

Wages or salary: pay stubs covering the last 30 days, or a letter from the employer.
Social Security (retirement, disability, or SSI): a letter from the Social Security Administration, a current-year benefit statement, a 1099, or a bank statement showing the deposit.
Unemployment: a statement of expected benefits from Unemployment Compensation, an unemployment printout, or a bank statement.
Pension: a copy of the pension check with the stub showing gross income, a letter from the pension board, a 1099, or a bank statement.
Self-employment: a current tax return with Form 1040 and the relevant schedules (C, K, SE, S), a quarterly statement from an accountant, or a 1099.

If an adult in the household has no income at all, you don’t need outside documentation for that person, but you will need to complete the Zero Income section on the form itself. Have your FirstEnergy account number ready too — the form asks for it on page one.

Filling Out the Enrollment Form

Download the form as a PDF from FirstEnergy’s website, or pick up a paper copy at a local community action agency. It has three parts.

Account and Contact Information

Enter your name, home address, mailing address if it’s different, phone number, and FirstEnergy account number. Check the account number against a recent bill. A transposed digit here will delay everything.

Household Information and Income

List every person living in the home, including yourself. For each one, give the name, date of birth, relationship to you, income for the last 30 days, and the type of income.² If someone has no income, write zero. Don’t leave the field blank; a blank looks like missing information rather than an answer.

Below the household table is the Zero Income section. If no adult in the household currently has any income, confirm that and then explain how the household covers monthly expenses. The form gives checkboxes for savings, financial support from friends or family, or “other” with room to describe. Pick at least one.

Signature and Certification

Sign and date the form at the bottom. Your signature certifies that everything you reported is accurate. An unsigned or undated form is the fastest way to get the application kicked back. If someone helped you fill it out, there’s a separate line for their information.

Submitting the Application

You have two ways to get the finished application in. The faster path is starting online through Dollar Energy Fund’s PA Bill Assist site, where portions of the application can be completed digitally.¹ Go to dollarenergy.org and follow the “Get Started” link for FirstEnergy PCAP.

If you’d rather use paper, mail the completed form and all income documents to Dollar Energy Fund at P.O. Box 42329, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. Photocopy everything before sending. If a document goes missing in the mail, you don’t want to rebuild the packet from scratch. Local community action agencies also accept walk-in applications and can help with sections you’re unsure about.

FirstEnergy will notify you by mail once you’re enrolled. A pending application does not stop service termination while you wait, so keep paying what you can on your current bill in the meantime.

What Enrollment Actually Changes

Once you’re in, your monthly bill is recalculated as a percentage of your household income rather than your actual usage. The percentage depends on where your income falls relative to the Federal Poverty Level and whether your home has electric heat, and there’s a minimum monthly bill of $12 for non-electric heat and $45 for electric heat.⁵

Any past-due balance on your account at the time you enroll is set aside and forgiven gradually. Each month you pay your PCAP bill in full, one-twelfth of the original arrearage is credited off.⁵ Pay every month for a year and the pre-program balance is gone. FirstEnergy also stops charging late payment fees while you’re enrolled and refunds any security deposit it’s holding.

Staying Enrolled

Enrollment isn’t permanent. You have to verify your income and household composition every year, and Dollar Energy Fund will contact you when recertification is due.¹ In some cases you can recertify by text message rather than mailing new documents.

Keep paying the PCAP bill each month. Service can still be terminated for nonpayment, and falling behind can get you removed from the program entirely.⁵ Removal costs you twice: the reduced billing rate ends, and any pre-program balance that hasn’t been forgiven yet goes back on your next bill. Forgiveness credits only apply for months where the bill was paid in full, so a single skipped payment means that month’s credit doesn’t come off the old balance.

1
Dollar Energy Fund. FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Customer Assistance Program
2
FirstEnergy. Pennsylvania Customer Assistance Program (PCAP) Enrollment Form
3
FirstEnergy. WARM Program
4
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
5
FirstEnergy. PCAP Important Changes