In 2026, more than 114,000 Missouri households stand to lose critical support to keep their homes heated and cooled. Congress has already passed deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP through the Reconciliation Bill. They are now turning their attention to the annual appropriations legislation, where a number of additional essential safety net programs are at risk.
Among many proposals for devastating cuts, the Trump administration has called for the total elimination of funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
Energy insecurity is a growing public health crisis. Deaths from extreme heat now exceed those from all other natural disasters combined in the U.S. Just last month, a woman in St. Ann was found dead from heat-related illness in her apartment after Ameren disconnected her electricity two weeks earlier.
She was one of many Missourians at risk. Roughly 300,000 Missourians have experienced an electricity shut-off over the last year. And, as of May 2025, 200,000 Missouri households were behind on their electric bills, facing the looming threat of disconnection.
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LIHEAP is a lifeline. In FY 2023 alone, it brought over $136 million into Missouri, helping households with low incomes pay energy bills and avoid dangerous utility disconnections. LIHEAP reaches every corner of the state, with over 1 in 5 households benefitting in parts of Southeast Missouri.
Representing a small fraction of the federal budget, LIHEAP has an outsized impact. LIHEAP serves many of Missouri’s most vulnerable residents. Approximately 36% of the households receiving LIHEAP include an older adult, 50% of households include a person with a disability, and 18% of households included a child under five. Overall, 75% of LIHEAP recipient households include at least one vulnerable member.
Missouri families qualify for LIHEAP if their income is at or below 60% of the state median income. The program includes two main components: Energy Assistance — a one-time payment for heating or cooling costs between October and May; and the Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP) — emergency assistance for those facing shut-off, currently providing up to $800 in winter and $300 in summer.
Continued access to home energy enables families to stay safe, seniors and people with disabilities to remain in their homes, and children to live in stable environments. As reported by the National Consumer Law Center, low-income utility customers face increasingly difficult financial decisions each month, particularly during extreme weather. They often must determine what they will forego to pay energy bills, including food, medicine, rent, and other life essentials.
When utilities are disconnected, households not only lose access to heating and cooling, but they also lose the ability to cook, refrigerate their food and medicine, stay connected to the internet, and do laundry in their homes. Most concerningly, most rental agreements have a clause that allow landlords to evict tenants whose utilities have been shut off.
Utility rates continue to climb. A 2024 report by Strategen Consulting showed that during the period from 2020 to 2023, both Ameren and Spire’s residential bills outpaced the rate of national inflation (18.62%) and Missouri’s wage growth (16%). In 2024, Ameren received a 12% residential rate increase, while Spire is currently seeking a 15% hike.
On top of that, Governor Kehoe recently signed new utility provisions into law that will add over $1,100 per year to household utility bills when fully implemented.
LIHEAP was created in 1981 in response to rising energy costs and economic hardship. Its role is just as critical today. The program has been reauthorized multiple times, expanding to better protect vulnerable populations. But now, due to President Trump’s proposal to zero out LIHEAP funding, the future of this program is at risk.
Consumers Council of Missouri and Empower Missouri are calling on Congress to protect and strengthen LIHEAP funding. If you agree with us, please call or write your federal representative and senator.
Tell them to oppose the Trump administration’s elimination of the LIHEAP budget. Keeping families connected to heating and cooling is not just a matter of comfort — it’s a matter of life, health, basic dignity, and community stability.
