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PY26 WHEAP Manual

Revised: August 2025 10. Applicants’ applications processed as zero costs due to a business or shared meter situation require approval from the HE+ Help Desk prior to issuing Crisis Assistance. Requests for crisis shall include a summary of the customer payment history. 11. Agencies shall not implement additional eligibility guidelines, Crisis Plans, and/or spending thresholds that deviate from Section 5.2.1.2 without approval from the Division.

5.2 Crisis Assistance Eligibility 5.2.1 General Eligibility Guidelines To be eligible for any Crisis Assistance, households must: 1. Meet the WHEAP eligibility criteria, and 2. Have a direct pay relationship with a participating energy vendor. Applicants without a direct pay relationship are not eligible for Crisis Assistance benefits.

To be considered for Crisis Assistance, applicants must have had eligibility determined by having completed an HE+ Application at any time during the current program year. If an applicant is deemed eligible for the current program year, the eligibility applies for the entire program year for Crisis Assistance services.

If an HE+ Application denies as over-income, there is no income eligibility exception for Crisis Assistance. If the household is over-income based on the prior month test period and there has been a change in the household’s financial circumstances, the HE+ Application may be processed using the present month income as described in Section 3.3.2. If the household is financially eligible based on the present month income, they are eligible for Crisis Assistance or HE+ Program Services. If the household’s financial circumstances have changed and there is an existing application from earlier in the program year that denied as over-income, a new HE+ Application shall be processed to determine current financial eligibility.

For applicants who have not applied during the heating season, eligibility must be determined by completing an application. The applicant will be denied a heating and/or an electric benefit because it is outside the program dates, but the applicant may be eligible for Crisis Assistance if the applicant is otherwise eligible for energy assistance.

5.2.1.1 Denial of Crisis Assistance Benefits or Services Eligible households may be denied Crisis Assistance because of: • The weather • Assets of the household • Failure to make payments on their energy bills • Having previously received Crisis Assistance twice during the program year • Having received $1,200 total in Crisis Assistance* • The applicant’s situation not being an emergency

*Agencies may submit a waiver request to the HE+ Help Desk to exceed $1,200 in crisis benefits or more than two WHEAP crisis benefit payments per program year.