Heating a home here is expensive, and most of the help out there takes weeks to reach you, so the time to ask is before the first cold bill. Everything on this page is free, and it's for everyone on the South Coast.
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There's more help with heating than most people realize, and none of it costs anything to ask for. The catch is timing, since applications take weeks and some protections only work if you ask before a crisis, so make these three calls this week.
It pays part of your heating bill from November through April for any fuel, and renters with heat included in the rent can apply too. Applications open October 1 and take weeks to process, so apply early through the agency listed under Your town. It's always free, so hang up on anyone who asks for a fee.
Ask about the discount rate and budget billing, and if you're falling behind, get their financial hardship form, which is what protects you from a winter shutoff.
Mass Save finds where your heat leaks out at no charge, and the insulation and air sealing that follow are deeply discounted or free, for renters too, so book it at 866-527-7283.
If you heat with oil or propane, the winter shutoff rules don't cover you, so order before you run low. Under an eighth of a tank of oil, or under three days of propane, is a heating emergency, so call your fuel assistance agency right away.
Fuel assistance, officially the Home Energy Assistance Program, pays part of your heating costs straight to your oil dealer or utility. The same application can also get you a discount on your electric and gas bills and emergency repair of a broken heating system.
You qualify if your household's gross yearly income, before taxes, is at or under the limit for its size:
| People in your household | Yearly income up to |
|---|---|
| 1 | $53,585 |
| 2 | $70,073 |
| 3 | $86,561 |
| 4 | $103,049 |
| 5 | $119,536 |
Larger households have higher limits, so ask your agency. How much you get depends on your income, household size and fuel.
Every agency's list is a little different, so call yours and ask what applies to your family, and many let you apply online and send documents after.
If you get fuel assistance, SNAP, MassHealth, SSI or a similar benefit, you probably qualify, and when you're approved for fuel assistance your agency usually signs you up automatically. Eversource takes 42 percent off electric bills and 25 percent off gas. National Grid takes 32 to 71 percent off electric depending on income, and you can apply for its first tier at 1-800-322-3223 with proof of a benefit like SNAP or MassHealth. Liberty gas customers qualify through a benefit like SNAP, MassHealth or fuel assistance. If the discount doesn't show up on your bill, call the company with your approval letter.
The Good Neighbor Energy Fund, run by the Salvation Army, gives a one-time grant to households facing a crisis with an energy bill who earn a bit too much for fuel assistance. Under the fund's 2025-26 guidelines that's up to $69,036 a year for one person and $132,764 for a family of four, and you have to be ineligible for state or federal energy assistance first. Call the regional line at 800-334-3047, the New Bedford Salvation Army at 508-997-6561, or the Fall River Salvation Army at 508-679-7900.
Ask your utility about its arrearage management program, which forgives part of an old balance every month you pay your new bill on time. At National Grid, customers on the discount rate who are at least $200 and 60 days behind can have up to $12,000 forgiven in a year; call 1-866-580-7617. Liberty runs a similar program, and it's worth asking Eversource about theirs too.
Eversource and National Grid can spread your yearly cost into equal monthly payments so January doesn't flatten you. It doesn't lower the total, and there's no income limit to join.
New Bedford's Community Electricity Aggregation buys power for residents at 14.346 cents per kWh under a contract that runs through November 2028, below Eversource's standard supply rate of 17.32 cents for August 2026 through January 2027, while Eversource still delivers the power and sends the bill. You can see where you stand at masscea.com/new-bedford or through the city's supplier, Constellation, at 833-461-0813. Many other Massachusetts towns run a similar program, so it's worth asking your town hall.
Massachusetts law stops gas and electric companies from shutting off heat between November 15 and March 15 for households facing financial hardship. The protection isn't automatic, though, so tell the company you're struggling, usually by filling out its financial hardship form.
You still owe for what you use during those months, so pair the protection with the discount rate and a payment plan, or the bill will be waiting in the spring. It covers gas and electric service, not oil or propane deliveries.
With a financial hardship form on file, the company also can't shut off service to a household where:
If fuel assistance paid toward your gas or electric bill last winter, the company has to presume you still face financial hardship, and it can't shut you off before January 1.
For help, call the state Department of Public Utilities consumer line at 877-886-5066. If your heat is off or about to be, call instead of filing online, and have your account number ready.
This is general information, not legal advice, so for your own situation, call your local legal aid office or the DPU consumer line.
Find the one that matches what's happening, and if it's one of the first two, call before you read anything else.
Get everyone out now, without flipping light switches or using anything that could spark, and call 911 from outside.
Call 911, tell them you think it's hypothermia, and move the person somewhere warmer while you wait, because older adults can be dangerously cold without shivering at all.
Call the company, tell them you're facing financial hardship, and ask for the form. If they won't help, call the Department of Public Utilities at 877-886-5066.
Most boilers and furnaces need electricity to run, so an outage usually means no heat. Report it to your electric company, never bring a generator, grill or camp stove inside, and dial 2-1-1 or 911 if the house gets dangerously cold.
Under an eighth of a tank of oil, or under three days of propane, is a heating emergency, so call your fuel assistance agency right away, then your dealer.
If you qualify for fuel assistance, your agency's HEARTWAP program can repair or replace a broken heating system, mostly for homeowners, so call the agency first and a licensed technician if you don't qualify.
Tell the landlord in writing, keep a copy, and call your city or town's Board of Health for an inspection, as If you rent explains.
Cities open warming centers during cold emergencies and post them on their own websites and alert systems, so dial 2-1-1, any hour, to find one open tonight, and shelter numbers are under Your town.
When your landlord provides the heat, Massachusetts law sets a floor. From September 15 through May 31, every room you live in and the bathroom have to reach at least 68 degrees from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 64 degrees overnight. Going without heat is a serious code violation, and the law protects you from being punished for reporting it.
A text or an email counts as writing, so keep a screenshot or a copy that shows the date.
If it isn't fixed, call your city or town's Board of Health and ask for an inspection, since the board can order the landlord to fix it.
Don't stop paying rent on your own, because withholding rent has strict legal rules, so talk to legal aid first, and masslegalhelp.org can point you to free help.
The account is yours, so everything under Pay the bill and Shutoff protection is yours to claim, including the discount rate.
You can still apply for fuel assistance, so tell the agency your heat is included when you apply.
Massachusetts requires a working carbon monoxide alarm on every level of any home with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage, and landlords have to install and maintain them. If yours is missing, ask in writing, then call the fire department or Board of Health.
Removable window film, a draft stopper at the door, thick curtains closed at night, and a heated throw all come out when you move.
This is general information, not legal advice, so for your own situation, contact legal aid or your Board of Health.
The cheapest heat puts warmth right where your body is instead of warming every corner of every room. This is roughly what an hour of each costs at today's Eversource prices, supply and delivery together:
These are estimates at about 36 cents per kWh, Eversource's New Bedford-area rate with delivery, and your own rate is on your bill.
A heated throw on the couch and a heated mattress pad in bed let you keep the house cooler without feeling it. With a boiler, furnace or baseboard heat, the U.S. Department of Energy says turning the thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for 8 hours a day can save up to 10 percent on heating. With a heat pump, pick one comfortable temperature and leave it, because deep setbacks can cancel the savings.
Keep rooms people are using at about 64 degrees or warmer, the floor World Health Organization guidance sets, and warmer for babies, older adults and anyone with heart or lung illness. In a deep freeze, skip the setback so pipes in outside walls don't freeze.
Buy heated blankets and pads new, with a UL, ETL or CSA mark and an automatic shutoff, and never fold them or pile bedding on top. Skip them for babies and for anyone who can't feel heat well, including people with diabetic nerve damage.
About three in four New Bedford homes heat with gas, and in a gas home a space heater almost never saves money, because electric heat costs more than three times as much as gas for the same warmth. In an oil, propane or electric-baseboard home it can pay off, but only if you close the door and let the rest of the house run well cooler. Never let any part of the house with pipes drop below 55 degrees, and follow every rule under Stay safe.
If you have a gas or oil furnace, boiler or water heater, never block its vents or the openings that feed it air, and test your carbon monoxide alarm before you seal things up. Never film over a bedroom window you'd need to climb out of.
Open curtains on sunny south, east and west windows during the day and close them at dusk. On a clear day, sun through the glass is free heat.
A lot of the heat you pay for leaks out through attics, walls and gaps around windows. Fixing that is the one thing that lowers every bill for every winter after, and for many households it's free.
Book it at 866-527-7283 or masssave.com, and afterward you can get 75 to 100 percent off approved insulation and free targeted air sealing, and lower-income households, renters included, can get the work done at no cost.
The state's Weatherization Assistance Program insulates and air-seals homes for free for households that qualify, owners and renters both, and the same agency handles it.
A cold-climate heat pump moves heat in from outside instead of burning fuel. Mass Save offers big rebates, with the installation free for some lower-income households, and homeowners can borrow up to $25,000 at 0% through the HEAT Loan.
Homes heated by a heat pump can also get a lower electric rate from November 1 through April 30. If you got a Mass Save rebate for yours, you're likely already enrolled, and if not, sign up with your electric company.
There's no federal tax credit for work done in 2026, because the two federal home energy credits ended with 2025, so don't count on one when a contractor quotes you a price.
Most winter home deaths come from two things: fires that start when a heater sits too close to something that burns, and carbon monoxide from burning fuel indoors. Space heaters and heating stoves start about 3 in 10 home heating fires but cause about 3 in 4 of the deaths, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Carbon monoxide has no smell, so you won't notice it building up. Massachusetts requires an alarm on every level of any home with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage, and one with a battery backup keeps working in a power outage, when the risk goes up. Put a working smoke alarm on every level too, and if the carbon monoxide alarm goes off, get everyone out and call 911 from outside.
Clear snow away from the outside vents for your furnace, boiler, water heater and dryer, and from your car's tailpipe before you start it. The state's carbon monoxide alarm law is named for Nicole Garofalo, a girl who died in 2005 after snow blocked her family's furnace vent.
If someone at home depends on oxygen, dialysis or other powered medical equipment, ask your electric company to register you for its life-support program before winter. It helps the company know about you during an outage, though restoring power can still take time, so keep a backup plan and call 911 in an emergency.
A cold house grows mold where warm, damp air meets cold walls and windows, and the EPA suggests keeping indoor humidity between 30 and 50 percent. Wipe window condensation each morning, run the bathroom fan after showers, and never tape vents shut.
Cold is most dangerous for people who are older, live alone, have heart or lung conditions, rely on powered medical equipment, or have nowhere warm to go. A phone call on the coldest nights is one of the most useful things you can do, and it costs nothing.
Any of these in a cold room means you should call 911. While you wait for help, move the person somewhere warmer.
Ask whether the heat is working and what the thermometer says, whether the carbon monoxide alarm is quiet, and whether they have food and their medicine. If nobody answers, try again, ask a neighbor to knock, and call 911 if you think they could be in danger.
LGBTQ+ older adults are twice as likely as their peers to be single and living alone, and four times less likely to have children, so a lot of us are somebody's only check-in. When the temperature drops, call your chosen family.
Massachusetts law says shelters that separate people by sex have to admit you according to your gender identity. Shelters don't always publish their policies, so it's worth calling ahead, and if you're turned away, call GLAD Law Answers at 800-455-4523.
Pick your town to see who takes fuel assistance applications there, which companies deliver your electricity and gas, and where to turn for a warm place or a shelter bed. If a detail doesn't match your bill, go by the bill.
PACE takes applications for New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester at 255 Union Street, New Bedford, 508-525-4271, or online at toapply.org/PACE.
Citizens for Citizens takes applications for Fall River, Freetown, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Seekonk, Rehoboth, Taunton, Berkley, Dighton and Lakeville. Its Fall River office is at 250 Griffin Street, 508-679-0041, and its Taunton office is at 1 Taunton Green, 508-823-6346.
For Raynham, Wareham or anywhere else, call the state's Cold Relief Heatline at 800-632-8175 and ask which agency takes applications where you live.
Save these in your phone before the first cold night, and share them with anyone who might need them.
Fuel assistance, heating emergencies, and finding your local agency.
Any hour, with interpreters in more than 150 languages, for warming centers, shelter and food, or call 877-211-6277.
The state's emergency shelter line for families with children, on weekdays.
A peer line run by and for trans people, Monday to Friday, 1 to 9 PM Eastern.
This isn't an emergency line, but call or text and we'll help you figure out where to turn.
We checked every phone number, income limit and rule on this page with the agency, company or law behind it in September 2026. Programs change, so call to confirm before you go, and in an emergency, call 911.