North Carolina has the Low Income Energy Assistance (LIEAP) program for help to eligible households pay their heating bills.

Households including a person aged 60 or older or disabled persons receiving services through the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services are eligible to sign up for assistance from Dec. 1 – 31. All other households may apply from Jan. 1 – March 31 or until funds are exhausted.

Households that meet the following criteria may be eligible:
Have at least one U.S. citizen or non-citizen who meets the eligibility criteria.
Meet an income test.
Have reserves at or below $2,250.
Be responsible for its heating costs.

Contact this office for help applying for LIEAP.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance program is called LIHEAP. They assist low income people and families with their heating and cooling bills. This program is therefore, a year long program that is available 12 months a year. To qualify for the LIHEAP assistance, you need to qualify. We provide the current Federal Poverty Rates nationwide below.

You are automatically qualified for LIHEAP assistance if you participate in the SNAP food stamps program, TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or the SSI program through Social Security.

Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2024

Persons In Family	Earnings (100% Fed Poverty Guideline)
1	$15,060
2	$20,440
3	$25,820
4	$31,200
5	$36,580
6	$41,960
7	$47,340
8	$52,720

*Alaska and Hawaii have different rates for HUD federal poverty guidelines.
These numbers above represent 100% of the Federal Poverty Rate. In order to get legal aid from some offices, they use a sliding fee scale. When they use a sliding fee scale, the 100% rate can be different than 100%. In those cases, using for example a 200% federal poverty level, you will only need double the 100% number listed above to 200%.

User questions & answers

Have you used the Swain County DSS Low Income Energy Assistance (LIEAP) service before? If so, please help our website users by answer these questions below.