Ohio households that heat with kerosene, propane or fuel oil can get up to $1,200 toward a bulk fuel delivery once the state’s Winter Crisis Program opens on November 2. The money goes to the fuel dealer, not to the household. The season runs through March 31, 2027, and the help is available once per winter.
Four heating types, four different ceilings
The $1,200 is a maximum, not a typical payment. Ohio’s fact sheet sets a separate ceiling for each way a household heats, so the number that matters depends on what feeds the furnace. Bulk fuel in the form of kerosene, propane or fuel oil gets the highest cap.
Wood or coal is capped lower, at $650. Customers of municipal utilities and electric cooperatives can receive up to $750. Customers of electric and natural gas companies regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, known as PUCO, can receive up to $175.
Heating equipment has its own line. A broken furnace can qualify for a separate benefit of up to $1,500 for repair or replacement. Money for bulk fuel can also cover tank costs, including testing, placement, rental and gauges, which matters to a household whose tank is the problem rather than the fuel.
Payment is made by the local agency that handles the application. That agency pays the utility or fuel vendor directly, so no check arrives at the household. Anyone with an outstanding balance at a PUCO-regulated utility must then enroll in an extended payment plan.
Which households count as a crisis
The program is built for emergencies, and the fact sheet lists them. A household qualifies if service has been disconnected, if a shut-off notice has arrived, or if it needs new service or must pay to transfer service. Defaulting on the PIPP Plus payment plan or needing to enroll in it also counts.
For homes on delivered fuel, the test is the tank. A household with 25 percent or less of its bulk fuel supply left is eligible for the crisis benefit. That makes a quarter tank in November a reason to call, rather than something to stretch through December.
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Income is the other gate. Ohio sets the limit at 175 percent of federal guidelines for households of up to seven people, which works out to $27,930 a year for one person. Both homeowners and renters may be eligible, and the bill must be in the name of an adult household member.
Where the application starts and what to bring
The application can be started online, but it is completed in an appointment with a local energy assistance provider or community action agency. Appointments can be held in person or remotely. Ohio points applicants to the state’s energy help site to find the local office.
Documents come next. Each household needs a list of everyone living there and proof of income for the last 30 days, or the last 12 months, for each member over 18. The most recent gas or electric bills are required whatever the account status, along with proof of citizenship or legal residency.
Birth dates and Social Security numbers for every household member are also required, as is proof of disability where it applies. The fact sheet tells applicants to confirm the exact paperwork with the local agency. Extra help may be available to customers of AES Ohio, Columbia Gas of Ohio, Enbridge Gas, Duke Energy, the FirstEnergy utilities, Ohio Power, National Fuel and Northeast Ohio Natural Gas.
The $175 reconnect order that needs no income test
A second protection runs alongside the program. PUCO issued its Special Reconnect Order on September 30 for the period October 12, 2026 through April 16, 2027. The commission’s bulletin says PUCO Chair Jenifer French said the commission has issued the order for more than three decades.
Any residential customer of a PUCO-regulated electric or natural gas utility can use the order once per heating season, with no income test. The customer pays the utility up to $175 plus the reconnection charge. If that charge is more than $36, the amount above $36 can be added to the next monthly bill.
More than 227,637 Ohioans used the order last season. Households at or below the 175 percent line can ask the Winter Crisis Program to cover the $175. The order covers regulated electric and gas customers only, so a household filling an oil or propane tank relies on the $1,200 ceiling instead.
The timing is staggered. The reconnect order has been available since October 12, three weeks before the crisis program opens on November 2. A household facing a gas or electric shut-off can use the order first, while a delivered-fuel household has to wait for the season date, which makes the tank level in late October a real deadline.
One timing detail separates the two. Once a household has an appointment, PUCO-regulated utilities must delay disconnection for 30 days, and that delay can be used once per year. The delay is written for regulated utilities, so a household low on delivered fuel has no such cushion once the tank runs down.
Because the benefit comes once per winter, the amount requested matters. A household that takes help at the first low-tank call cannot come back in February, and the fact sheet lists $1,200 as the ceiling for that single payment. The open question for anyone on propane or oil is how big the November delivery needs to be.
Is the fuel tank down to a quarter before November 2?
Delivered fuel does not wait for a paperwork queue. A tank at 25 percent is already inside the crisis test, but a missing bill, an income record or a name on the wrong account can push an appointment past the first cold week, and the disconnection delay does not cover fuel dealers.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit includes heating, cooling and home-repair help, laid out in its Part 5 on utilities and home costs, plus an application log and renewal calendar. It gives one place to keep the documents, the appointment date and the program names straight.
Get the heating and home-repair help section of the relief kit before the tank runs low →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
