What Indianapolis Residents Need to Do Right Now to Protect Their Utility Service This Winter
Marion County LIHEAP funds have historically run out within weeks of the application window opening. Indiana's winter shutoff protections don't activate automatically. Here is what the law actually…
Marion County LIHEAP funds have historically run out within weeks of the application window opening. Indiana’s winter shutoff protections don’t activate automatically. Here is what the law actually covers and what you have to ask for yourself.
Can Citizens Energy or AES Indiana legally shut off your gas or electric service this winter if you’re behind on your bill? Yes. But meaningful restrictions apply between November 1 and March 15 — and only if the utility follows specific procedures. The longer answer is that those protections don’t activate automatically. You have to ask for them, enroll in a payment plan, and in some cases submit documentation. The residents who wind up without heat in February are almost always the ones who assumed the rules would protect them without any action on their part.
This winter carries heightened stakes. LIHEAP assistance funds in Marion County have historically run dry within a few weeks of the application window opening. The window to act is as early in October as possible — not November, when the bills are already frightening and the waitlists are already forming.
Why Energy Costs Are a Growing Pressure This Winter
Natural gas heating is the norm in Marion County, and Citizens Energy is the primary provider for Indianapolis residents. For lower-income households in Haughville, Brightwood, and along the 38th Street corridor on the Near and Far Eastside, utility costs already consume an outsized share of household income. When the thermometer drops, the math is simple: heat the house or pay another bill. Most households in these neighborhoods can’t do both.
If you haven’t looked at your Citizens Energy or AES Indiana account since last spring, look now. Households that enter the heating season with existing arrears have fewer options than those who deal with a balance before November 1. Four hundred dollars owed in September is still workable inside the utility’s negotiation framework. Twelve hundred dollars owed in January is a different problem entirely.
What Indiana Law Actually Protects You From — and What It Doesn’t
Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Rule 280, codified at 170 IAC 4-1-28, establishes a winter protection window from November 1 through March 15. During that period, Citizens Energy and AES Indiana cannot disconnect residential customers for nonpayment without following a specific sequence of steps. Critically, they must offer a payment plan before any disconnection can proceed.
The rule requires the utility to provide written notice of the pending shutoff, give the customer a reasonable opportunity to enter into a payment arrangement, and process that arrangement before proceeding to disconnect. If a customer contacts the utility, invokes the right to a payment plan, and enrolls in one, disconnection is stayed as long as the customer stays current on both installment payments and ongoing new charges.
What the rule doesn’t do matters as much as what it does. It does not automatically prevent disconnection. It doesn’t freeze your account the moment November arrives. If you receive a shutoff notice and do nothing — don’t call, don’t enroll, don’t respond — the utility can and will disconnect service after following its required notification procedures, even in January. You have to act. That’s the whole thing.
Both Citizens Energy and AES Indiana are subject to the same winter window requirements, though the specific payment plan terms each utility offers differ.
Medical hardship certification. Most residents don’t know this protection exists — and that’s a genuine failure of public communication. If someone in your household has a medical condition that would be seriously worsened by loss of heat or electricity — a respiratory illness, a condition requiring powered medical equipment, anything a licensed physician will certify — you can submit a medical certificate to your utility. Both utilities are required to take that documentation into account and can extend additional protections or delay disconnection while it’s in effect. Ask your utility for the form when you call about your account.
The Early October Action Window
The LIHEAP application window for Marion County residents is administered locally through Community Action of Greater Indianapolis (CAGI). Call CAGI at 317-396-1800 to confirm the exact opening date for the 2025–2026 heating season before that date arrives.
Marion County’s LIHEAP allocation has been exhausted within a few weeks of the application window opening in recent years. Once funds are gone, applications go onto a waitlist, and there’s no guarantee waitlisted households will receive anything before February or March — if at all. Applying the moment the window opens isn’t overcaution. It’s the only reliable path to assistance. Households applying in mid-November often receive nothing.
The weeks before the window opens are the time to get ready. Gather documents. Confirm your income for the current year. Know exactly where and how to apply before the window opens. Call Citizens Energy or AES Indiana now — before the heating season — to discuss payment plans and budget billing. Customers who contact their utility before their account reaches crisis-level arrears have more options than those who call after receiving a shutoff notice. That gap is real and it’s large.
Do You Qualify for LIHEAP?
Indiana’s Energy Assistance Program uses income thresholds tied to federal poverty guidelines and state median income. The federal ceiling is 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Confirm Indiana’s exact threshold for the 2025–2026 program year with CAGI at 317-396-1800 or the Indiana LIHEAP state line at 800-872-0371 before you assume you’re ineligible.
If your household income is modest and you’re not sure whether you qualify: apply anyway. Program administrators and CAGI intake staff make the eligibility determination. The cost of being turned down is zero. There is no penalty for applying and being denied. The cost of not applying and needing the assistance — no bill reduction, no shutoff protection, nothing — is the whole winter.
Priority populations in Marion County receive expedited processing: households with at least one member age 60 or older, a child under 6, or a member with a documented disability. Say so when you call or arrive at intake. It affects processing order and can mean the difference between receiving assistance in November and being waitlisted in January.
Benefit amounts vary by household income, size, and energy costs, but for a household of three with income near 130 percent of federal poverty, assistance can reach $500 to over $1,000 depending on the year and available funding. It goes directly to your Citizens Energy or AES Indiana account — you won’t receive a check.
How to Apply for LIHEAP in Marion County
The local intake agency is Community Action of Greater Indianapolis (CAGI): 3532 N. Keystone Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46218. Phone: 317-396-1800.
Call ahead to confirm the application opening date, current walk-in hours, and whether appointments are required. During the first days of the application window, walk-in volume is high. Arriving early with documents in order shortens your time there significantly.
Bring: photo ID for all adults in the household, Social Security numbers or documentation for all household members, proof of income for the most recent 30 days (pay stubs, a Social Security award letter, unemployment documentation, child support records, or a self-employment statement), and your most recent Citizens Energy or AES Indiana bill showing your account number and service address. If you rent and heat is included in your rent, bring a letter from your landlord verifying the amount attributable to heat. If the utility bill is in someone else’s name, bring a lease agreement or landlord verification letter as proof of residency.
You don’t file separately with the state. CAGI submits the application on your behalf, and if approved, the payment goes directly to the utility.
One thing that trips people up: receiving LIHEAP does not automatically enroll you in any utility hardship program. You must contact Citizens Energy and AES Indiana separately to discuss any remaining balance not covered by LIHEAP. Households receive their LIHEAP credit, assume they’re protected, and then discover they still owe $600 and the utility will pursue disconnection for the uncovered amount. Call the utilities. Even after the LIHEAP credit posts.
What Citizens Energy and AES Indiana Actually Offer
Citizens Energy’s Budget Billing program averages your estimated annual usage into 12 equal monthly payments, eliminating the spike of a February gas bill. Call 317-924-3311 or visit the walk-in service center at 2020 N. Meridian St. to enroll. Enrolling before the heating season means your first payment already reflects a winter average. If you have an existing balance, Citizens Energy will typically discuss incorporating those arrears into a Budget Billing arrangement — having arrears doesn’t automatically disqualify you. Get whatever you agree to in writing or via email confirmation. That part matters.
Citizens Energy also operates a separate Hardship Program providing bill assistance to qualifying low-income customers. Ask specifically about the Hardship Program when you call — the intake representative can determine eligibility and start the application. This program is funded separately from LIHEAP, and you can apply for both. For broader context on free and low-cost legal help in Indianapolis organized by need, including resources that can help you navigate utility disputes and consumer protections, that coverage has additional detail.
AES Indiana offers budget billing and low-income assistance options coordinated through Indiana’s Energy Assistance Program. Call AES Indiana at 317-261-8222 to discuss payment arrangements, budget billing, or hardship assistance. The same LIHEAP application through CAGI that covers Citizens Energy gas service can also cover your AES Indiana electric bill, depending on eligibility and available funding. Ask the CAGI intake worker to apply the benefit to both accounts if applicable.
Again: receiving LIHEAP does not automatically trigger either utility’s internal hardship protections or enroll you in a payment plan. A household that receives $800 in LIHEAP assistance but still owes $300 must contact the utility separately or risk disconnection on the remaining amount.
You Already Have a Shutoff Notice — Do These Things in This Order
If a shutoff notice is in your hand today, time is measured in days.
Call your utility immediately. Citizens Energy: 317-924-3311. AES Indiana: 317-261-8222. Tell the representative you’ve received a disconnection notice and want to invoke your right to a payment plan under Indiana’s winter protection rules (Rule 280 / 170 IAC 4-1-28). Use that language. It signals that you know your rights and are actively seeking resolution. The utility is required to offer a payment arrangement before disconnecting. Get the terms confirmed in writing and note the date by which any required payment must be made to stop the disconnection.
This call must happen before the disconnection date on your notice. Calling on a Friday afternoon when the office is about to close is cutting it dangerously close. Call the moment the notice arrives.
Contact CAGI for emergency energy assistance. Call 317-396-1800 and say you have a shutoff notice. CAGI maintains limited emergency LIHEAP crisis funds separate from the main application pool. These funds are more restricted than the general program but they exist. If the main application window is open, apply for LIHEAP simultaneously. The two can run in parallel.
Contact emergency assistance organizations. St. Vincent de Paul Indianapolis: 317-924-5769. The local conference can sometimes provide a smaller, faster direct payment to the utility — often in the range of $100 to $300 — enough to stop a disconnection while LIHEAP processing completes. Salvation Army Indianapolis operates through 211, which can direct you to the nearest location offering utility assistance.
If you don’t know where to start: Call 211. Indiana’s social services helpline operates 24 hours and can direct you to the right resource for your specific situation.
Do not wait to see if the shutoff notice resolves itself.
Neighborhoods Carrying the Heaviest Energy Burden This Winter
The neighborhoods where the gap between household income and energy costs is widest are concentrated in specific corridors — and these are the areas where LIHEAP waitlists hit hardest when funds exhaust. The Near Eastside combines lower median household incomes with older, poorly insulated housing stock, a combination that produces high utility burden even in mild winters. Haughville on the west side faces similar conditions. Brightwood — close to the CAGI intake office on Keystone — and the neighborhoods along the 38th Street corridor on the Far Eastside show the same pattern in utility disconnection records and community action intake data.
These aren’t arbitrary geographies. They are precisely the areas where LIHEAP data, utility disconnection records, and community action intake show concentrated need — and where the households that most need early application face the most barriers to getting there on day one. When funds run out in the first weeks, it’s those households that are left with nothing.
Community organizations, churches, and neighborhood associations in these areas: this article is worth putting in front of your people. The timing of when a household sees this information can determine whether they keep their heat through February. Residents in our legal & finance coverage can also find related guidance on consumer protections, assistance programs, and financial resources relevant to Indianapolis households.
Quick-Reference Checklist — What to Do Before November 1
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As early as possible once the application window opens (call CAGI at 317-396-1800 to confirm the exact date):
- Apply for LIHEAP at CAGI: 3532 N. Keystone Ave. Call ahead to confirm walk-in hours or make an appointment. Bring photo ID, Social Security numbers for all household members, proof of income (last 30 days), and your current utility bill.
- If you’re 60+, have a child under 6, or have a documented disability in your household, say so at intake. You may receive priority processing.
Before the application window opens — do this now:
- Gather your documents so you’re ready to apply the moment LIHEAP opens.
- Call Citizens Energy (317-924-3311) to discuss Budget Billing or a payment plan if you have an existing balance.
- Call AES Indiana (317-261-8222) to do the same for electric service.
- Ask Citizens Energy specifically about the Hardship Program and confirm income eligibility thresholds when you call.
If someone in your household has a medical condition aggravated by heat or power loss:
- Ask your physician to complete a medical hardship certificate and submit it to Citizens Energy and/or AES Indiana before the heating season begins.
If you already have a shutoff notice:
- Call Citizens Energy (317-924-3311) or AES Indiana (317-261-8222) today. Invoke your right to a payment plan under Indiana Rule 280 before the disconnection date.
- Call CAGI (317-396-1800) for emergency crisis assistance funds.
- Call St. Vincent de Paul (317-924-5769) or 211 to reach Salvation Army locations offering utility assistance.
- Not sure where to start: call 211.
Indiana’s winter protections require you to act. Every protection on this list requires you to pick up the phone. A shutoff notice sitting on your counter doesn’t resolve on its own.
CityDesk Indianapolis will update this article if Citizens Energy or AES Indiana program terms change ahead of the 2026–2027 heating season. Readers with updated information on LIHEAP fund exhaustion dates or program changes should contact our newsroom.
