Michigan Energy Assistance Program helps Michigan households keep the heat and lights on, and a new MPSC podcast explains how to get help before shutoffs hit.
As another long Michigan winter approaches, the Michigan Public Service Commission is using its Behind the Meter podcast to push a simple message: the Michigan Energy Assistance Program can keep families’ heat and lights on, but only if they know how to use it.
The November episode features Mike Byrne, the MPSC’s chief operating officer and podcast host, in conversation with Dan Scripps, chair of the Commission, and Kasey Grieco, who manages energy assistance at the Superior Watershed Partnership, a nonprofit grantee based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Together, they walk through how the program, widely known as MEAP, pays a portion of past-due bills, sets up payment plans and connects residents with longer-term support.
They also spend time on the basics that many residents still miss: who qualifies for assistance, how to apply through MI Bridges or local partners, and why people should ask for help before a shutoff notice rather than after.
Michigan Energy Assistance Program podcast explains how aid works before the shutoff notice arrives
At its core, the Michigan Energy Assistance Program is a statewide system that uses money from the state’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund to help lower-income households avoid losing essential utility service. The MPSC describes MEAP’s purpose as providing both “energy assistance and self-sufficiency services” so that eligible households can pay on time, budget for energy costs and use energy more efficiently.
Recent changes in state law raised the stakes. Public Acts 168 and 169 of 2024 removed a longstanding $50 million cap on the Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. It allowed participating utilities to increase their monthly surcharge in small steps, up to $2 per meter. Public Act 170 raised MEAP’s income eligibility to 60 percent of state median income — a shift that expands the pool of households who can qualify for help.
In April 2025, the MPSC set the current funding factor at $1.25 per meter per month for utilities that opt into the fund, effective with September 2025 bills. That decision means more money is available for the Michigan Energy Assistance Program heading into this winter heating season.
MEAP is not a stand-alone benefit. Households must first apply for the state’s State Emergency Relief (SER) program, which uses federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) dollars to address crisis situations such as past-due bills or a nearly empty fuel tank. MEAP then layers on supplemental bill payment help and “self-sufficiency services,” often provided by community partners who guide residents through applications, budgeting and energy-saving steps.
On the podcast, Superior Watershed Partnership represents the front line of MEAP in the Upper Peninsula, where long winters, older housing and higher energy costs relative to income can push families into trouble quickly. The nonprofit serves as a MEAP grantee and a navigation partner to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, helping residents apply for assistance and connect to weatherization, efficiency upgrades and other services.
Superior Watershed Partnership has also received more than $1.5 million in state workforce and utility assistance funding in recent years, underscoring how central its role has become in keeping U.P. homes heated and powered.
Statewide, the need is significant. A 2021 report by the Michigan League for Public Policy found that Michigan families living below 50 percent of the federal poverty level often spend more than 30 percent of their income on energy bills alone. For households up to 200 percent of the poverty level, the average gap between what they can afford and what they actually owe on energy is about $1,315 per year.
Yet the flagship federal program, LIHEAP, “reaches fewer than 1 in 6 Michigan households who meet the income eligibility requirements,” the League found. That shortfall is one reason the state has built additional layers such as the Michigan Energy Assistance Program, the state Home Heating Credit, and local weatherization and payment-plan pilots.
For residents, the patchwork can be confusing. The MPSC’s guidance is blunt: call 2-1-1, talk with your utility as soon as you know you cannot pay, and use the MI Bridges portal or local community partners to apply for SER and MEAP before a shutoff date.
Michigan Energy Assistance Program podcast fits broader push for transparency on rates and reliability
Behind the new episode is a media strategy the MPSC has been steadily building. The Behind the Meter podcast was launched to cover technical but high-impact topics: utility rate cases, Michigan’s energy transition, efforts to expand broadband, and the push to improve electric reliability after a series of controversial outages. Episodes feature MPSC commissioners, staff, and outside experts talking in plain language about decisions that usually unfold in dense regulatory dockets.
The Michigan Energy Assistance Program installment follows earlier episodes that looked at electric vehicles and Michigan’s “electric future,” as well as broadband affordability and access. In each case, the Commission is trying to explain complicated policy debates to the same people who pay the bills — and who are most affected when service falters.
Energy affordability advocates argue that this kind of outreach is not just public relations but basic consumer protection. The Michigan League for Public Policy has documented how high energy burdens contribute to housing instability, utility shutoffs, and even health problems such as asthma. Working America, a national advocacy group, now circulates its own plain-language guide to the Michigan Energy Assistance Program, urging residents to apply early, use MI Bridge, and call 2-1-1 for help.
The MPSC’s mission statement is modest — safe, reliable, accessible service at reasonable rates — but for many residents, the immediate question is more straightforward: can they keep the lights and heat on this winter, and what happens if they fall behind? By dedicating an entire Behind the Meter episode to the Michigan Energy Assistance Program, regulators are betting that better information, delivered in a conversational format, can move at least some households to seek help before they reach a crisis point.
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