Texas Utility Help Program: CEAP Income Limits and How to Apply

The main Texas utility help program is the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program, or CEAP. It pays toward your electricity, natural gas, or propane bill and can cover emergency costs if your service is about to be shut off. To qualify in 2026, your household income has to fall at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $49,500 a year for a family of four.¹ The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs runs CEAP through a network of local community action agencies that cover all 254 Texas counties.

What CEAP Actually Pays For

CEAP is more than a past-due bill payer. Depending on your situation, the program offers:

Direct payments toward your electricity, gas, or propane balance. The money goes to the utility company and is credited to your account, not sent to you.²
Crisis intervention funds for households already disconnected or holding a disconnection warning. This can also cover a broken heating or cooling system that creates an immediate health risk.
Repair or replacement of a failed furnace or air conditioner when you can’t afford the cost yourself.
Energy education and counseling on reducing usage and managing bills.

2026 Income Limits

Eligibility is based on total household income over the 30 days before you apply.³ The 2026 dollar limits by household size are:¹

1 person: $23,940
2 people: $32,460
3 people: $40,980
4 people: $49,500
5 people: $58,020
6 people: $66,540
7 people: $75,060
8 people: $83,580

For households larger than eight, add $8,520 per additional person. A “household” means everyone living together who shares the cost of residential energy, not just family by blood or marriage.

Citizenship and Mixed-Status Households

At least one person in your household must be a U.S. citizen or a qualified non-citizen. Qualified non-citizens include permanent residents with a green card, refugees, asylees, and certain people paroled into the country for at least a year.⁴

If some members of your household aren’t eligible, you’re not shut out. The agency prorates the benefit based on how many eligible people live there. The income of every household member still counts toward the income calculation, though, whether or not that person qualifies.⁴ For services that can’t be split up, like fixing a furnace or stopping a disconnection, the agency can provide the full service to protect the eligible people living in the home.

Who Gets Priority When Funds Are Tight

Local agencies are required to prioritize households facing the greatest health risk from losing service. Under Texas rules, “vulnerable populations” include elderly persons, people with a disability, and households with a child age five or younger.⁵ Agencies also weigh a household’s energy burden — the share of income spent on utilities — and unusually high energy consumption.³

If you fit into one of those categories, put that on your application. Agencies see high volume during summer and winter peaks, and flagging your status can affect how quickly your file is reviewed.

Documents to Gather Before You Apply

Have your paperwork ready before you contact an agency. You’ll need documents in four categories:

Proof of citizenship or legal residency for every person in the household. Acceptable documents include a birth certificate with a photo ID, a U.S. passport, a certificate of naturalization, a current permanent resident card, or an employment authorization card.
Income for the past 30 days for everyone in the household. Pay stubs, Social Security or SSI award letters, VA benefit statements, retirement or pension documents, child support records, or unemployment statements all work. If a household member has no income, a Declaration of Income Statement form is usually required instead.⁶
Your most recent electric, gas, or propane bill, including the meter number and service address. Bring the whole bill, front and back.
Social Security numbers for all household members.

The name on your application needs to match the name on your utility bill and your ID. Mismatches, especially between a maiden name and a married name, are one of the most common reasons applications get sent back for corrections.

How to Apply

CEAP applications go through the community action agency serving your county, not through the state directly. To find yours, use the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs “Help for Texans” page, pick the type of assistance you need, and enter your city or county. The tool returns the organizations serving your area with contact information.²

You can submit your completed application and documents by mail or deliver them in person. Staff review the file for completeness, and if something is missing or the numbers don’t line up, they contact you rather than denying outright. When approved, the payment goes straight to your utility provider and is credited to your account.² Nothing arrives in your mailbox, but the credit shows up on your next bill.

If Your Service Is About to Be Shut Off

Don’t wait on a CEAP application if you’re holding a disconnection notice. Texas has separate protections that can buy time.

Extreme Weather

The Public Utility Commission of Texas prohibits electric providers from disconnecting any residential customer for nonpayment during an extreme weather emergency.⁷ Those emergencies follow National Weather Service advisory criteria, so they’re triggered by official heat advisories or winter storm warnings, not a set temperature. During these periods, your retail electric provider must also offer a deferred payment plan for bills that come due.⁸

Summer Payment Plans

Outside declared weather emergencies, electric providers in the ERCOT region must offer payment plans for bills due in July, August, or September to residential customers designated as critical care or chronic condition, and to any customer who has told the provider they can’t pay in full.⁸ Summer bills often run two or three times what they cost in spring, and a payment plan can stretch that peak across months.

Medical Protections

If someone in your household has a serious medical condition that would worsen without electricity, the PUC provides additional protections for customers classified as critical care or chronic condition residential customers.⁷ A physician has to contact your retail electric provider with documentation to establish the status. It doesn’t erase the bill, but it does trigger extra notice requirements and access to payment plans other customers don’t get.

Disconnection Notice

Before any provider shuts off power, they have to send a separate disconnection notice with a stated shutoff date at least ten days out, in English and Spanish, describing alternate payment arrangements and possible assistance.⁹ The disconnection date can’t fall on a weekend or holiday. If a notice you receive doesn’t meet those requirements, contact the PUC.

Weatherization: Fixing Why the Bill Is High

While CEAP handles the bill, the Weatherization Assistance Program tackles the reason the bill is so high. A crew performs an energy audit, identifies where you’re losing heat or cool air, and then does the physical work at no cost. That usually means adding attic or wall insulation, sealing air leaks, and replacing inefficient heating or cooling equipment.

Weatherization has two income tracks. At or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level, you qualify through the LIHEAP-funded version. A separate track funded by the U.S. Department of Energy extends eligibility to 200 percent of poverty, which is $66,000 for a family of four in 2026. Households already approved for CEAP automatically qualify for weatherization. The process runs from a professional audit to a scope of recommended work to a final inspection confirming safety standards.

Other Places to Look

CEAP is the biggest program, but not the only one. Many retail electric providers in Texas run their own hardship programs with bill credits, flexible payment arrangements, and emergency funds. Ask your provider what’s available. Dialing 2-1-1, the Texas Health and Human Services helpline, connects you with local nonprofits and charities offering utility assistance outside the CEAP system. Churches, the Salvation Army, and St. Vincent de Paul are common sources of one-time emergency help without the same application process.

One program you may have heard of no longer exists: LITE-UP Texas, a state-funded electricity discount for low-income households in deregulated areas, ended in August 2016 after the Legislature eliminated its funding surcharge in 2013. Nothing at the state level has replaced it, which is why CEAP and the PUC’s consumer protection rules carry most of the weight for Texas households struggling with utility costs.

1
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Community Affairs Income Guidelines
2
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Help for Texans
3
Cornell Law Institute. Texas Code 10 Tex. Admin. Code 6.307 – Subrecipient Requirements for Customer Eligibility Criteria, Provision of Services, and Establishing Priority for Eligible Households
4
Administration for Children and Families. LIHEAP IM 2023-03 Assistance for Eligible Household Members Residing with Ineligible Household Members
5
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Texas Administrative Code 10 TAC Chapter 6 – Community Affairs Programs
6
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Community Affairs Income Questions and Answers
7
Public Utility Commission of Texas. Consumer Protection Rules for Extreme Weather
8
Cornell Law Institute. Texas Code 16 Tex. Admin. Code 25.480 – Bill Payment and Adjustments
9
Cornell Law Institute. Texas Code 16 Tex. Admin. Code 25.29 – Disconnection of Service