Bills

Energy assistance Las Vegas: who qualifies and how the help works

Energy assistance Las Vegas households can get is help paying your power and gas bills, paid for by a small charge on Nevada power and gas bills. The state uses that money for two things: paying part of your bill, and fixing up your home so it costs less to heat and cool. If your power is about to be cut off, there is emergency help too. Here is what Nevada law says about who gets it and how.

What you do now

1. Check the income line. Most households qualify if their income is at or under 150 percent of the federal poverty level for their household size (NRS 702.260(3)). Count everyone who lives with you and shares the home.

2. Say if it is an emergency. If the cost of power or gas, or losing it, puts anyone in your home at risk, the state may help right away. It can act on a good-faith belief that you qualify, before every paper is checked (NRS 702.260(5)). Tell them about a shutoff notice, a baby, an older person, or someone sick.

3. Have a recent bill ready. Your power or gas bill shows the "Universal Energy Charge" line (NAC 702.330). That charge is what pays for this help. The home repair program asks for a bill for the month you apply (NAC 702.870(2)(b)).

4. Ask about home repairs too. A separate program can fix a broken heater or cooler, or seal up your home, so your bills drop for good (NRS 702.270). See the section below.

5. If you have a shutoff notice, act today. Ask your power or gas company for a payment plan while you apply. Our page on shutoff notices explains the protections in winter and for medical needs.

Where the money comes from

Most power and gas customers pay a small "universal energy charge" on their bill: 0.39 mills (less than a tenth of a cent) per kilowatt-hour of electricity and 3.30 mills per therm of gas (NRS 702.160(1)). That money goes into the state's Fund for Energy Assistance and Conservation (NRS 702.250). The law splits it two ways:

75 percent: help paying bills. This goes to the state's Division of Social Services to help eligible households pay for natural gas and electricity (NRS 702.260(1)).

25 percent: home repairs. This goes to the state's Housing Division for energy saving, weatherization and efficiency work on homes (NRS 702.270(1)).

Who qualifies

The income rule. Household income at or under 150 percent of the federal poverty level, as the Division figures it (NRS 702.260(3)). The home repair program uses the same line (NRS 702.270(3); NAC 702.870(2)(c)).

Renters count. You do not have to own your home. The law includes tenants in a mobile home park, and tenants who buy their electricity from their landlord based on what they actually use (NRS 702.260(10)(a)). The repair program covers homes that are owned, rented or subsidized, including apartments and single rooms (NAC 702.670).

Government workers in a shutdown. A household with at least one federal, state or tribal worker can get help during a government shutdown, even above the income line (NRS 702.260(4)).

Who is left out. If your power or gas comes from a rural electric co-op, a general improvement district, or a members-only utility, you do not pay the universal energy charge. You also cannot get help from this fund for that service (NRS 702.150).

How much help you get

There is no flat amount. The law aims to bring your power and gas costs down to the share of income a typical Nevada household spends on them (NRS 702.260(7)(a)). So the more of your income goes to power and gas, the more help you can get.

The Division can raise or lower the amount based on (NRS 702.260(7)(b)):

Your household income.

How many people live in your home.

What kind of energy you use.

Anything else that makes your household hit hard when power or gas prices go up.

Home repairs: weatherization

The Housing Division gives money to local nonprofits and community action agencies, which do the work (NAC 702.830). You apply with the one approved for your county. The Housing Division keeps the name and contact for that group (NAC 702.870(1)).

To apply you file an application and an eligibility worksheet, show a recent bill, and meet the income line (NAC 702.870(2)). A computer energy audit picks the repairs that save the most for your type of home and cooling or heating system (NAC 702.840).

Who goes first, in this order (NAC 702.870(3)):

1. Emergencies. Your main heater does not work or is unsafe in winter, or your main cooler does not work or is unsafe in summer.

2. Homes with someone vulnerable. Someone 60 or older, someone with a disability, or a child under 6 (NAC 702.680, 702.775).

3. Everyone else who qualifies.

The Housing Division can also give emergency help when a failure of the home or one of its systems threatens someone's health or safety (NRS 702.270(4)). You do not need a disability card or benefit check to count as a person with a disability for this program (NAC 702.775(2)).

Rules and limits in Nevada law

What	What the law says	Source
Income line	At or under 150% of the federal poverty level for your household size	NRS 702.260(3); NRS 702.270(3)
Emergency bill help	Allowed when power or gas cost or loss threatens health or safety, on a good-faith belief you qualify	NRS 702.260(5)
Bill to show	A power or gas bill for the month you apply, showing you paid the universal energy charge (repair program)	NAC 702.870(2)(b)
Repeat repairs	No weatherization if the home was weatherized by any program in the last 5 years	NAC 702.870(4)(b)
Homes left out of repairs	Vacant, for sale, being sold, or in foreclosure	NAC 702.870(4)(c)
Records kept	The repair group must keep your application and worksheet at least 6 years	NAC 702.870(5)
Program year	Runs July 1 to June 30	NAC 702.720

Read 2026-11-08 off the Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 702 revision stamped 4/15/2026 (2025), and the Nevada Administrative Code, chapter 702 revision stamped 4/13/2026.

If you are turned down

Ask why, in writing. The income line, your household size and the type of utility you use are the usual reasons. Check each one against the rules above.

Things change. If you lose hours, a job or a person's income, your household income drops. Apply again with the new numbers.

Free legal help. See our free legal help page if you think the rules were applied wrong.

Good to know

"Household" for the repair program means everyone, related or not, who lives in the same home and shares the main heater or cooler (NAC 702.740). The law tells the state to use the same simple application forms as other agencies where it can (NRS 702.260(9)(c)). Our What am I owed? checker tests your household against this line and the food and health lines at once. If the lights are already out, see our power outage page.

For the application, office hours and your local weatherization group, check with the Nevada Division of Social Services and the Nevada Housing Division directly. Call 211 if you need help.