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Massachusetts Winter Heating Help and Shutoff Rules

How HEAP fuel assistance works this winter, who is protected from utility shutoffs, how budget billing smooths January bills, and who to call.

Boston Neighbor staffPublished 7 min read
Illustration of a snowy New England clapboard house at night with glowing windows, a radiator and mug on the sill, and an electric meter on the wall

Heating help in Massachusetts comes from three places: a state fuel program run by local agencies, legal protections against utility shutoffs, and budget plans from the utilities. If your heat is at risk, start with the first two.

Fuel assistance (HEAP): the basics

The Home Energy Assistance Program, usually called HEAP or fuel assistance, is the state’s version of the federal LIHEAP program. It helps eligible households pay winter heating bills. According to MASSCAP, the statewide association of community action agencies, this year’s program runs November 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, and online applications opened October 1, 2026.

What trips people up:

  • Homeowners and renters both qualify, including renters whose heat is included in the rent.
  • You don’t have to be behind on bills or on other benefits, according to MassLandlords’ Oct. 22, 2026 summary of the program.
  • You reapply every year.
  • Heating fuel payments go directly to the fuel company.
  • MassLandlords adds that the application also covers the state’s heating system repair and replacement program and the weatherization program, and enrolling can bring discounts on telephone, electric, gas and oil bills, MASSCAP says.

Who qualifies

Household income can’t exceed 60 percent of the estimated state median income, counting the gross annual income of every adult in the home. The FY2027 limits in the MASSCAP chart:

Household size Gross annual income limit
1 $53,585
2 $70,073
3 $86,561
4 $103,049
5 $119,536
6 $136,024

Larger households are in the full chart linked above.

How much it pays

Benefits vary with household size, income, heating source and housing situation. In the FY2027 chart, the highest listed tier for homeowners and tenants who don’t live in subsidized housing is $600 for deliverable fuel (oil, propane, kerosene) and $500 for utility and heat-included-in-rent. Subsidized tenants top out at $420 and $350. Benefits step down as income rises. The chart also lists a High Energy Cost Supplement; ask your agency what it pays. ABCD’s December 2025 release cited maximums of $1,000 for deliverable fuel and $850 for utilities for last winter, so the FY2027 chart is the one to go by. Your award letter is the number that counts.

A new benefit for middle-income oil customers

For households that heat with oil, earn between 60 and 100 percent of state median income, and don’t qualify for HEAP, the state announced a one-time benefit of up to $680 per household. MassLandlords reports the application is expected to open in December 2026, and the state has an interest form to be notified when it does.

Where to apply

You can apply online at mass.gov/heap, in person at a local agency, or by mail. The agency depends on your town:

  • Malden, Medford, Melrose, Everett, Winchester, Woburn and Stoneham: ABCD, 781-322-6284.
  • Boston, Brookline and Newton: ABCD, 617-357-6012.
  • Lynn: LEO Inc., 781-581-7220.
  • Gloucester: Action Inc., which lists a Home Energy Assistance Program on its site.

For any other town, use the “find your agency” tool on MASSCAP’s heating help page.

Utility shutoff protections in winter

Fuel assistance helps pay. Shutoff protections keep the lights and heat on while you sort out payment. Massachusetts has two kinds, and neither is automatic.

The winter moratorium

Under state regulation 220 CMR 25.03, the standard winter protection runs November 15 to March 15. It covers a household whose utility service provides heat, that can’t pay because of financial hardship, and whose service wasn’t shut off for nonpayment before November 15. For this winter, the DPU’s winter bills page says it has asked to widen the residential moratorium to run November 1, 2026 to April 1, 2027. Last winter the DPU started the moratorium early, on October 27, 2025, and extended it to April 1, 2026, ABCD reported. The DPU’s consumer line is 1‑877-886-5066.

What matters more is who is covered. Customers who have submitted verification of financial hardship to their utility, or who already receive the low-income discount rate, have their electric or gas heat protected. The Councils on Aging say it is not automatic: each utility has its own hardship form (Berkshire Gas, Eversource and National Grid each have one).

Year-round protection for some households

State law and DPU rules add protections that do not depend on the calendar:

  • Everyone in the home is 65 or older. Under M.G.L. c.164 s.124E, a gas or electric company cannot shut off service to such a household for an unpaid bill without first complying with all DPU rules on termination.
  • An infant under 12 months lives in the home and you cannot afford the overdue bill because of financial hardship (s.124H).
  • Someone in the home is seriously ill and you are experiencing financial hardship, under the DPU’s regulation 220 CMR 25.03.

The Councils on Aging also point to a DPU “no shut off” list as a further route and note that some gas heating systems need electricity to run. Gas customers are protected from losing gas as the primary heat source, but their electricity can still be cut off, so protect every utility tied to your heating system.

Budget billing

Budget billing doesn’t lower what you use. It spreads the cost so a January bill doesn’t arrive as a shock. Both major utilities offer it:

  • Eversource says budget billing divides annual electric and gas usage into level monthly payments. The starting payment is based on your past 12 or six months of use, divided by 11 and multiplied by the current rate. Eversource reviews and adjusts the amount, and customers are re-enrolled each year unless they opt out.
  • National Grid says its budget plan turns what you usually pay in a year into twelve balanced monthly payments, based on the prior year’s use, with adjustments possible as your pattern becomes clearer.

Call your utility to sign up. Ask what happens at the end of the twelve months and what the plan does to any past-due balance.

Other help to know about

  • Good Neighbor Energy Fund. For limited-income households not eligible for fuel assistance, MASSCAP points to the fund run by the Salvation Army: 1-800-334-3047 for area codes 617, 508, 781 and 978.
  • Mass 2‑1‑1. Dial 211 for non-emergency social services.
  • Utility problems. Call the DPU Consumer Division at 1‑877-886-5066.
  • Mass Save. MASSCAP also lists Mass Save for help with energy costs and home assessments. Our Mass Save heat pump rebates explainer walks through that program, and our ice dam guide and first snow checklist cover keeping the house itself in shape.
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