Utility Assistance for Qualifying Families

Utility
January 7, 2021
Qualifying Connecticut families can receive energy assistance to help reduce unpaid utility bill balances through the Operation Fuel Online Portal.
 
Although customers with hardships are protected from utility shutoffs through May 1, 2021, unpaid bills continue to stack up. Operation Fuel’s Home Energy Assistance Program, a 24/7 web-based portal, offers assistance to help you chip away at those high balances that must still be paid.
Visit the Portal and Apply

To apply you must:

  • Be a household whose income does not exceed 75% of the State Median Income Guidelines, including working families or individuals facing a financial crisis.
    • Financial crisis is defined as the inability of a household to pay for a deliverable fuel or a thirty-day outstanding utility bill.
  • Bring proof of the last four weeks of income for all household members, the name of your fuel vendor (for deliverable fuel customers, only), or your utility bill and payment history (for electric and gas utility customers only).
  • See detailed guidelines in both English and Spanish.

Please note: An Operation Fuel energy grant is not an entitlement to all Connecticut residents who fall within income guidelines. Grants to households are approved at the discretion of Operation Fuel staff.
Before COVID-19’s devastating financial impact the United Way found:
  • More than 400,000 low- and moderate-income Connecticut families were at risk of not being able to pay their utility bills.

During COVID-19’s devastating financial impact Operation Fuel has seen:

  • Residents who have never needed emergency energy assistance desperately seeking help.
  • A 20% increase in requests for help with electric, gas, oil, water, and other energy costs.
  • Since July, residents have been able to apply for help through the portal.
  • For additional information, visit their website.

Operation Fuel is the state’s only year-round emergency energy assistance program, offering help with electricity, water, natural gas, oil, and other energy bills. Anyone interested in donating please click here and or text OPFUEL to 44321.