Utility Assistance for Seniors in Colorado (2026 Guide)

What to Know in 2026

Colorado has already published the 2026–27 LEAP income limits. The program opens November 1, 2026. A one-person household can have gross monthly income up to $3,774, and a two-person household up to $4,936. The limit rises with household size.

Energy Outreach Colorado’s bill-payment program uses a separate income test tied to 80% of Area Median Income, so its limit varies by county and household size. That means a senior who is over the LEAP limit may still have a reason to check Energy Outreach Colorado.

Colorado also enacted SB 26-002 in 2026. The law establishes percentage-of-income payment plans for income-qualified customers of investor-owned utilities and includes rules for affordable bill percentages and arrearage credits. Utility-specific enrollment details can still differ.

LEAP Is Colorado’s Main Winter Heating Program

Colorado’s Low-income Energy Assistance Program is the state’s version of the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. It helps eligible households pay part of their winter home-heating costs. It is not designed to pay the entire heating bill.

The Colorado Department of Human Services says the 2026–27 season runs from November 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027. In most approved cases, the benefit goes directly to the household’s primary heating-fuel vendor. The amount varies with factors such as primary heating costs, household income, available program funding, and applications received.

There is no special LEAP age cutoff for seniors. Older adults use the same household rules. You may qualify if you pay home-heating costs directly to a utility or fuel company, or through rent, and your household meets the income and other program requirements. If heat is included in rent and you do not live in subsidized housing, CDHS says you may still qualify.

If you need help with more than utilities, our Colorado senior assistance guide covers other state and local benefits.

2026–27 LEAP Income Limits

LEAP uses a maximum of 60% of Colorado’s state median income for the 2026–27 season. The state published the following gross monthly limits. These are screening figures; the program makes the final eligibility decision after reviewing the application.

How to Apply for LEAP

Beginning November 1, you can apply online through Colorado PEAK, send an application to the correct county LEAP office, or pick up and drop off an application at a county human services office. You can also call 1-866-432-8435 to request a paper application by mail.

If online benefits systems are difficult to use, our Colorado PEAK guide explains the state’s benefits portal in plain language.

LEAP application checklist

• Answer every section of the application.
• Provide Social Security numbers and birth dates for household members as required.
• Provide proof of monthly household income.
• Include your most recent heating bill, or a recent rent receipt if heat is included in rent.
• Include lawful-presence documentation when the LEAP application requires it.
• Sign the application and send it to the correct county office.

Incomplete paperwork is a common cause of delay. If your heat is about to be shut off or you are running out of fuel, say that immediately when you call HEAT HELP. Do not assume filing an application by itself stops a utility disconnection.

Energy Outreach Colorado Can Help With Past-Due Bills

Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) is an important route when an electric or heating bill is already past due, service is disconnected, or a household is low on heating fuel. Its Bill Payment Assistance Program pays approved assistance toward the energy bill rather than handing out unrestricted cash.

The EOC program year runs from October 1 through September 30. For the current 2026–27 year, EOC uses household income limits based on 80% of Area Median Income. The exact limit depends on the county and household size. Check the current EOC income chart instead of using one statewide dollar figure.

To apply, use EOC’s partner agency finder, then call the agency before visiting. EOC tells applicants to bring photo identification and a past-due energy bill. Partner schedules, appointment capacity, and funding can differ by location.

If your bill problem is part of a larger financial emergency, see our Colorado emergency assistance guide.

PIPP Can Lower Ongoing Bills for Some Utility Customers

A one-time payment can solve a past-due balance but not a bill that is unaffordable every month. Colorado uses Percentage-of-Income Payment Plan programs, usually called PIPP, to tie an eligible customer’s bill to household income and provide utility credits.

Energy Outreach Colorado currently lists PIPP routes for Xcel Energy, Black Hills Energy, Colorado Natural Gas, and Atmos Energy. Its PIPP information page can also refer households that are not currently past due if income is below 80% of Area Median Income.

The 2026 energy-affordability law describes PIPP bills as capped at an affordable percentage of household income, typically in a range of about 2% to 6% depending on the utility and heating source. Do not assume your payment will equal a single statewide percentage. The utility’s approved tariff and your heating setup control the actual calculation.

Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives may have their own payment plans, hardship programs, or local aid. Call the provider on your bill and ask what affordability program applies to your account.

Weatherization and CARE Can Reduce Future Bills

If the same home is expensive to heat every winter or cool every summer, bill assistance may only be a short-term fix. Colorado’s Weatherization Assistance Program provides no-cost energy-efficiency services to qualified households. Eligibility depends on county, household size, income, or enrollment in certain assistance programs.

The Colorado Energy Office says households receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or LEAP may automatically qualify for weatherization. Both homeowners and renters may apply, but renters need landlord permission. Funding and demand can create a waiting list.

Work starts with a free home energy audit. Depending on the home, services may include air sealing, insulation, furnace repair or replacement, efficient appliances, LED lighting, or limited heat-pump work. The audit determines what measures are appropriate; an approved household is not guaranteed every listed improvement.

Energy Outreach Colorado’s CARE program is another no-cost efficiency route for income-qualified households served by participating utilities in participating counties. CARE can provide an audit and improvements such as insulation, air sealing, efficient appliances, lighting, and qualifying furnace or water-heater work.

If you own an older home and utility costs are tied to repair problems, our Colorado home repair guide covers other repair pathways.

If the Primary Heating System Is Broken

Colorado’s Crisis Intervention Program operates year-round for eligible households with a non-working primary heating system. The state LEAP page describes help with repair or replacement of a primary heating system such as a furnace or wood-burning stove.

Call 1-855-4-MY-HEAT (1-855-469-4328). This is different from buying a portable heater. LEAP does not pay for temporary or portable heating sources.

Colorado Shutoff Protections Depend on the Utility

Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) rules provide important protections for customers of utilities that fall under the commission’s electric or gas disconnection rules. Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives may follow different rules, so first identify who regulates the company on your bill.

Under the current electric disconnection rule, a regulated electric utility must postpone a residential shutoff on a day when the morning National Weather Service forecast predicts 32°F or lower or 95°F or higher during the next 24 hours. A qualifying medical certificate can also postpone residential electric disconnection for 90 days, and the rule limits use of that medical protection to once in 12 consecutive months.

The comparable regulated-gas rule includes the 32°F cold-weather protection and a 90-day medical-certificate protection. The 95°F provision is an electric-service rule, not a reason to assume a gas shutoff has the same summer threshold.

These protections postpone disconnection; they do not erase the bill. Call the utility as soon as a notice arrives and ask about an installment plan. If a regulated utility does not resolve a billing or shutoff problem, Colorado PUC Consumer Assistance can be reached at 303-894-2070 or 1-800-456-0858. The PUC’s consumer complaint form is also available online.

Water and Sewer Help Is Usually Local

LEAP is a home-heating program, not a statewide water-bill program. Colorado water and sewer assistance is more local. If a water bill is overdue, call the water provider and ask about payment arrangements, hardship funds, leak adjustments when relevant, and partner charities.

Then contact 2-1-1 Colorado. Its statewide database includes thousands of services and can search by ZIP code for utility and basic-needs help. You can dial 2-1-1, call 1-866-760-6489, or text your ZIP code to 898-211.

Do not assume an energy-assistance approval will also pay a water bill. Ask each program exactly which utility charges it can cover.

Tribal and Local Help Can Add Another Route

Colorado’s utility-help system is not only statewide. County agencies, community nonprofits, Area Agencies on Aging, municipal utilities, and tribal programs can add help that a statewide program does not provide.

For eligible Southern Ute Tribal members, the Tribe’s Family Services General Welfare program lists utilities among the needs it may help with. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe also lists utility and emergency assistance through tribal departments. Tribal members should contact their own tribal office directly because eligibility, funding, and covered costs are separate from state LEAP rules.

Older adults who need help finding the right local office can also use our Colorado aging agencies guide. For community-based emergency funds, see our Colorado charities guide.

How to Start Without Wasting Time

Utility crises often involve several programs at once. Keep one folder with the same basic records so you do not have to rebuild the application packet for each agency.

• Most recent electric, gas, propane, or heating-fuel bill.
• Any disconnect, final, past-due, or reconnection notice.
• Account number and the name on the utility account.
• Proof of current household income, including Social Security or pension records when requested.
• Identification and household-member information.
• Lease or rent receipt if heat is included in rent.
• Proof of participation in SNAP, SSI, LEAP, or another qualifying program when it can establish eligibility for weatherization or CARE.
• Medical documentation if a health condition makes disconnection dangerous and the utility asks for a medical certificate.

Ask each agency for its own final document list. Do not send sensitive documents to an address or email that you have not verified from the official program or utility.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Waiting for LEAP to open during an emergency. Before November 1, use HEAT HELP, EOC, your utility, and 2-1-1.
• Using last year’s income or award figures. LEAP and EOC update eligibility rules by program year.
• Assuming age alone qualifies you. Senior status may make a program especially useful, but income, utility, household, and service-area rules still matter.
• Ignoring the utility while applying elsewhere. The utility controls the account and can explain the amount, arrangement, or documentation needed to prevent a shutoff.
• Treating weatherization as emergency bill help. It can lower future energy use but may involve an audit, scheduling, landlord permission, and a waitlist.
• Assuming every Colorado utility has identical protections. PUC-regulated investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, and cooperatives can have different procedures.

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