PIPP Plus Ohio: Income Limits, Monthly Payment Percentage, and Arrearage Credit Forgiveness
This one is unusual, because the disagreement is between two official sources rather than between a state page and a blog. The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel describes the payment as five percent of monthly household income for electric and/or natural gas service. The federal LIHEAP Clearinghouse profile for Ohio describes gas-heating customers as paying six percent. Both agree that all-electric homes pay ten percent, and both agree the minimum is $10. We are not going to pick one. Ask your Energy Assistance Provider what percentage will be applied to your account, and check the figure printed on your first PIPP bill.
Instead of paying what you used, you pay a percentage of what you earn — and the difference between the two is written off over twenty-four on-time payments.
What you actually pay
| Your home | Monthly payment | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Gas heat, with separate electric service | A percentage of monthly household income to each company | $10 |
| All-electric home | 10% of monthly household income | $10 |
→ swipe the table sideways
Source: Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, PIPP Plus fact sheet; LIHEAP Clearinghouse Ohio profile. The two differ on the gas-heating percentage — see the note above.
Three consequences follow, and they are the reason this programme is unlike almost anything else in the country.
You are not responsible for the difference. If your actual bill is $250 and your PIPP payment is $120, the $130 gap is not a debt you owe — provided you pay the full PIPP amount by the due date each month.
New customers pay no security deposit and are not charged late fees.
Participation is mandatory for the utility. Ohio's regulated gas and electric companies are required to offer this. It is not a courtesy programme they can decline to run.
Income limits, and what is not counted
The threshold is 175% of the federal poverty guidelines, at every household size. Households of nine or more are measured against 60% of state median income instead.
Income is measured over the last 30 days or the last 12 months, and the state prefers 12. What matters as much as the limit is what falls outside it:
| Not counted |
|---|
| Assets of any kind. Savings, a paid-off house, a retirement account — there is no asset test. |
| Wages and salary earned by dependants under 18. A teenager's part-time job does not count against the household. |
Source: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Energy Assistance Programs Application. Income guidelines are revised each year — confirm the current chart at energyhelp.ohio.gov.
Both homeowners and renters qualify. What you do need is an active account in your own name with a utility regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
The same application screens you for HEAP, the Winter and Summer Crisis Programs and weatherisation at the same time — and completing it delays a shutoff by 30 days even before anyone reviews it.
How to apply for PIPP Plus in Ohio →The arrearage forgiveness, and how it actually works
This is the part that makes PIPP Plus different from a payment plan.
If you owe money on the account when you enrol, every payment made on time and in full credits one twenty-fourth of that old balance. Twenty-four such payments and the balance is gone.
Two conditions carry the whole thing. On time. And in full. A short payment does not earn a partial credit — it earns nothing that month.
There is also a route for people who grow out of the programme. If your income rises past the limit and you leave PIPP Plus with a balance still outstanding, ask about the PIPP Arrearage Crediting plan — PAC — which exists to let former customers keep paying down the deferred amount. Nobody mentions it unprompted.
Two dates on your bill, and they are not the same
Both are printed on your statement, and confusing them is how people fall off the programme.
| Date | What it means | What you must do |
|---|---|---|
| Reverification date | The date your most recent application was processed | Verify household size and income every 12 months by this date |
| Anniversary date | The date you first enrolled. It never changes. | Be caught up on all missed payments by this date |
→ swipe the table sideways
Source: Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, PIPP Plus fact sheet.
You must also report any change in household size or income within 30 days, separately from the annual reverification. Customers who do not reverify are removed from PIPP Plus.
How Ohio compares
Most states offer a one-off annual credit toward a heating bill and nothing more. Ohio does that too — HEAP, worth between $24 and $441 depending on circumstances — but PIPP Plus runs alongside it, every month, all year.
The comparison that matters is not with other assistance programmes but with the bill itself. A household paying a percentage of income rather than a percentage of consumption is insulated from a cold winter, a failing furnace, and an old house. That is a different kind of protection from a $400 credit in January, and the two stack.
Seven things people get wrong
It is not, as long as you pay the full PIPP amount by the due date. The gap between your bill and your payment is absorbed, not deferred onto you.
Arrearage credit requires payment on time and in full. A partial payment earns no credit at all for that month.
The reverification date is about paperwork. The anniversary date is about being caught up on payments. Missing either has consequences, and they fall on different days.
There is no asset test. This programme looks at income only.
Wages earned by dependants under 18 are excluded. Including them can push a household over the line for nothing.
A household member moving in or out, or an income change, has to be reported inside a month — not saved up for the annual reverification.
If your income rises past the limit, ask about PIPP Arrearage Crediting. The deferred amount does not have to sit there.
| Programme | Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus (PIPP Plus) |
| Administered by | Ohio Department of Development, HEAP office |
| Apply or reverify | energyhelp.ohio.gov |
| Ohio HEAP helpline | 1-800-282-0880 |
| Fact sheet | Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel |
| Utility rules and complaints | puco.ohio.gov |
Related programs
The procedureHow to apply for PIPP Plus in Ohio→ Another monthly billMedicare Savings Programs: all 50 states→ Stacks with thisFree food for seniors: income limits and what stacks→ The order to apply inSenior benefits: the national guide→Tools you'll need
occ.ohio.gov — Ohio Consumers' Counsel fact sheets
puco.ohio.gov — utility rules and complaints
liheapch.acf.gov — federal LIHEAP profile for Ohio
eldercare.acl.gov — 1-800-677-1116
211.org — local help finder
Sources. Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP Plus) fact sheet — payment percentages, the $10 minimum, the rule that customers are not responsible for the difference, no security deposit and no late fees, the 1/24th arrearage credit, and the reverification and anniversary dates. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Energy Assistance Programs Application — the 175% income standard, the exclusion of dependent minors' wages, and the 30-day change reporting rule. LIHEAP Clearinghouse, Ohio profile. FirstEnergy Ohio utility guidance on PIPP Arrearage Crediting.
Verified: August 1, 2026. Income guidelines are updated annually. The two official sources differ on the gas-heating percentage — confirm with your provider.
This page explains a public program. It is not legal or financial advice and it is not an eligibility decision. Only the Ohio Department of Development and your local Energy Assistance Provider can determine what you qualify for.
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