Utility Bill Assistance

If you are facing a utility shut-off or are low on fuel supplies, GLCAP can help. We can help provide assistance with utility payments, including help during the winter months through the Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program (EHEAP), and help during the summer through the Summer Crisis program.

Contact:
567-432-5046

Schedule an appointment

Emergency Winter Heating Assistance

Schedule Here

The Winter Crisis Program is available November through March to provide utility bill assistance for electric and heating bills. The program can help you avoid a utility shut-off, reconnect a utility, or provide bulk fuel supplies such as propane, wood, and kerosene for households with less than a 25% bulk fuel supply.

The service is available for eligible residents of Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca and Wood counties. Income and other eligibility guidelines are listed below.

Click here to schedule an appointment online.

Or call 567-432-5046 to schedule via phone.

If your utilities are already shut off, or are have less than 25% bulk fuel supplies, call 419-333-6054 to be placed on our emergency call list.

Questions? See our FAQs section below for answers.

Home Energy Assistance Program

Apply Now

The federally funded Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) offers a one-time per year credit to eligible Ohioans to help with the cost of utility payments. This one-time benefit is applied directly to the customer’s utility bill or bulk fuel bill.

Applications may be completed online at the Ohio Department of Development website .

Paper applications may also be downloaded here (Haga clic para una aplicación en español), completed, and turned into Great Lakes Community Action Partnership.

The deadline to apply is May 31, 2023.

Eligibility Guidelines

View our brochure

In order to qualify for assistance, you must be a resident of Wood, Sandusky, Ottawa or Seneca County, and will need to provide the following items:

• A list of all household members, including Social Security numbers and birth dates

• Proof of citizenship for each household member

• Proof of income for each adult household member for the previous 30 days or 12 months

• Copies of your recent utility bills

• Disability verification (if applicable).

You must also be at or below the income levels noted below, depending on household size.

Household Size	Annual Income
1	$23,783
2	$32,043
3	$40,303
4	$48,563
5	$56,823
6	$65,083
7	$73,343
8	$81,603

Appointments

To schedule an appointment at one of the following GLCAP locations nearest you,
call 1-800-775-9767 or 567-432-5046, or click here.

GLCAP
Headquarters
127 S. Front St.
Fremont, OH 43420

GLCAP Fostoria Family
Development Center
801 Kirk St.
Fostoria, OH 44830

GLCAP Port Clinton Family
Development Center
1848 E. Perry St.
Port Clinton, OH 43452

GLCAP Jordan Family
Development Center
812 N. College Dr.
Bowling Green, OH 43402

Contact Us

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 1-800-775-9767 or 567-432-5046.

FAQs

UTILITY ASSISTANCE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why did I get two HEAP letters in the mail? Which amount am I getting? Is it a scam?
Good news! This year, there are two HEAP credits and you will get both amounts! The second credit is from the American Rescue Plan, a benefit from the Federal COVID Relief program.

I received my HEAP letters in the mail, why doesn’t my company have the money yet?
HEAP credits post to your main heating source within 60 days of the date of your letter. Please allow at least 60 days before inquiring the status of the payment. If you are in crisis (disconnect status or low in bulk fuel), please call our scheduling hotline to make a crisis appointment or our customer service line.

I have called the hotline and it says appointments are full. Why and what should I do?
Due to limited staffing, only a certain amount of appointments are available each day. Once those are full, the next day more will open. The hotline opens up more appointments at midnight. We suggest calling after then or early in the morning.

I called the customer service number and left a message. No one has called me back.
Rest assured your message was received! Just like many other businesses, we have limited staffing and a large increase in the volume of calls. Please be patient and we assure you we are returning calls in the order they were received. We also created these questions to help address the most common questions. Please do not leave multiple messages as this will slow down the process in returning calls.

I called the hotline and it says my appointment will be after my disconnect date. Do I need a sooner appointment?
No! The regulated companies of Columbia Gas, AEP, Toledo Edison, and Ohio Edison have agreed to place a hold on your disconnect notice once you schedule an appointment with us. Be sure to not hang up until your receive your confirmation number, which is proof you scheduled your appointment. When calling the hotline with a disconnect notice, be sure to select Winter Crisis, then select your utility company, then enter your account number. This is the only way the hold will go through.

If your utility company is not one of the regulated companies listed above or you use bulk fuel, please schedule your appointment and then call our customer service number and leave a message with the name of your company and your confirmation number so that we can contact your company directly.

I was removed from the PIPP program and I don’t understand why?
PIPP requires that you re-verify your income every 12 months and anytime you have a change in income or household status. If you haven’t reverified in the last 12 months the utility companies will remove you from PIPP as a reminder that you need to re-apply. To reverify your PIPP, choose one of the following: Fill out a paper application and mail or drop off to one of our offices (you must include all documentation in order for the application to be processed); Apply online here; or Call the hotline to make a PIPP appointment.

I applied online and have not received any updates. When will I know my application was approved?
Online applications are reviewed in the order they are received. There is a large volume of applications and the process can take up to 12 weeks. Once approved, you can log in and view the status.

I mailed my application to Columbus. Why haven’t I heard anything?
These applications are uploaded to our system in the order they are received and can also take up to 12 weeks to approve. REMEMBER, if you are in crisis, please call our hotline!

Is it any faster to drop off my application to a local office?
All HEAP/PIPP applications are sorted and processed by date received. The timeframe is about the same for any method, but we are doing our best to get through them much sooner than the maximum 12 weeks.