Model Plan Application for LIHEAP Funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27)

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Action Transmittal

AT#: LIHEAP-AT-2026-4

DATE: June 10, 2026

TO: All LIHEAP Grant Recipients

SUBJECT: Model Plan Application for LIHEAP Funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) (Application deadline Tuesday, September 1, 2026)

ATTACHMENT(S): 1. How to Use the Clone Report Feature in OLDC to Submit a New FY27 LIHEAP Plan. 2. LIHEAP Model Plan Reference Guide. 3. FY27 Model Plan Form

PURPOSE: To provide Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant recipients with instructions for how to apply online for federal Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) LIHEAP funding, confirm the September 1, 2026, LIHEAP Model Plan submission deadline, and remind grant recipients

they can “clone” or pre-populate their prior data into a new Plan submission to reduce administrative reporting burden.

BACKGROUND: States, the District of Columbia, territories, and tribes or tribal organizations that wish to administer LIHEAP must submit an application for funds by September 1st (or the date issued by the Office of Community Services (OCS)) each FY, covering a grant period of October 1 through September 30. Section 2605(c)(3) of the federal LIHEAP statute (42 U.S.C. § 8624(c)(1)) provides that the Secretary shall make available a model LIHEAP Plan, which may be used to prepare the application required under sections 2605(a)(1) and (c)(1) (42 U.S.C. § 8624(a)(1) and (c)(1)).

OCS has the responsibility to review and accept LIHEAP Model Plan submissions on behalf of

the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and

Families (ACF). The Office of Management and Budget approved ACF’s LIHEAP Model Plan form under clearance number 0970-0075 is effective through February 28, 2027.

KEY MODEL PLAN SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

Plan Submission Deadline:

The deadline for the FY27 Plan is Tuesday, September 1, 2026.

Grant recipients must submit the LIHEAP Model Plan via the Online Data Collection (OLDC), located within GrantSolutions, each FY in order to receive LIHEAP funding allocation.

For FY27, LIHEAP grant recipients can “clone” or pre-populate their FY26 data into a new Plan, but they must follow the application process outlined below.

Transferring Prior-Year Information into a New Plan (OLDC “Clone” Feature):

All grant recipients must complete the entire LIHEAP Model Plan for FY27 in OLDC. Grant recipients can transfer information from the FY26 LIHEAP Plan (prior plan) into the new Plan by using the “Clone Report” feature in OLDC. Attachment 1 provides step-by-step instructions for how to use the “Clone Report” feature.

After transferring prior year information into the new Plan, at a minimum, grant recipients must update responses to the following sections:

SF-424 Mandatory Grant Application section — Fields 1.d., 7.d. (this section will be used as the official point of contact for the public director of State and Territory Grant Recipient Contacts and Tribal Grant Recipient Contacts), 13.a., and 13b. Funding Period, and fields 16 and 17 Authorized Official through the attached Letter of Delegation;

Section 1-Program Components, 2605(b)(1)-Question 1.1 Dates of Operations Question 1.2 Estimated Funding Allocations;

Section 2—Heating Assistance, 2605(b)(2) — Question 2.1 Eligibility Threshold; Section 3—Cooling Assistance, 2605(b)(2) — Question 3.1 Eligibility Threshold; Section 4 — Crisis Assistance, 2605(c) — Question 4.1 Eligibility Threshold;

Section 5—Weatherization Assistance, 2605(b)(2) — Question 5.1 Eligibility Threshold;

Section 8 — Agency Designation, 2605(b)(6)-Assurance 6 — Question 8.8. This section is required for state grant recipients and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico only;

Section 10 — Program, Fiscal Monitoring, and Audit, 2605(b)(10)-Assurance 10 — Questions 10.3, 10.9;

Section 11 — Timely and Meaningful Public Participation, 2605(b)(12), 2605(c)(2) — Questions 11.1-11.5;

Section 12 — Fair Hearings, 2605(b)(10) — Questions 12.1-12.3;

Section 13 — Reduction of home energy needs, 2605(b)(16) — Questions 13.1-13.5; and

Section 16 — Performance Goals and Measures, 2605(b). This section is required of state grant recipients only and optional for other grant recipients.

Attach supporting documentation or provide links to supporting documents online, as needed, such as policies and procedures.

Leveraging Activities:

The LIHEAP Model Plan includes an optional section (Section 14) to explain possible leveraging activities the grant recipient may take during FY27. Completing this section is one requirement to receive a separate leveraging grant, if funding becomes available. However, OCS awards leveraging grants in the federal FY following the year the grant recipient conducted the leveraging activities. Therefore, if funding becomes available in FY27 for leveraging, OCS would award leveraging grants in FY27 based upon a separate leveraging report that would be reconciled against the responses in the FY26 LIHEAP Model Plan for leveraging activities that took place in FY26. Similarly, if leveraging funding becomes available in FY28, OCS would award leveraging grants in FY28 based upon FY27 LIHEAP Model Plan. OCS last awarded leveraging grants in FY12 and has no estimate for when federal leveraging grants may become available again. However, grant recipients are encouraged to complete this section if they intend to leverage non-federal funds to assist LIHEAP bill payment or weatherization assistance households so that the public and all interested parties can review and comment on the grant recipient’s efforts.

Household Report:

The statute requires that complete LIHEAP Plans MUST include the LIHEAP Household Report for the previous federal fiscal year regarding assisted households and households applying for assistance. Therefore, in order for the FY27 LIHEAP Plan to be accepted, the FY26 Household Report must be submitted along with the LIHEAP Plan in OLDC.

The LIHEAP statute requires the Secretary to collect data on the number and income levels of households assisted and the following additional household data:

• Number of assisted households with at least one young child;
• Number and income levels of households applying for LIHEAP assistance; and
• Number of assisted households with at least one or more individuals who are 60 years or older or disabled.

States, the District of Columbia, and territories with regular allotments of $200,000 or more must collect this data on their applicant and recipient households in order to submit the data on the Household Report (Long Form — ACF 121).

All tribal grantees, and territories with regular allotments of less than $200,000, are required to submit only information on the number of households served in each of its program components (i.e., heating, cooling, crisis, and weatherization on the Household Report Short Form, ACF - 120).

The FY 2026 Household Report must be submitted no later than September 1, 2026, with at least estimates provided. If only estimates are provided, or changes to final numbers occur, the FY 2026 Household Report must be resubmitted no later than December 31, 2026, with final data. All grantees must submit the Household Report through OLDC.

Quarterly Report (Replacing Carryover Report):

Section III: Estimated Use of Funds in the required Quarter 3 report includes the information from the previously required Carryover and Reallotment Report (CRR). This

means: the LIHEAP CRR will no longer be a required report in its previous format. The required data will be captured in the LIHEAP Quarterly Report. Two key data elements from the

CRR are required explicitly by the federal LIHEAP statute. The data elements include Q3 estimates of how much the grant recipient requests HHS set aside to be carried over from the current federal fiscal year into the next federal fiscal year. The data elements include estimates of how much the grant recipient anticipates having to return to HHS as unobligated and available for HHS to reallot in the next federal fiscal year, as well as includes a required

“remarks” field for grant recipients to explain why they are requesting to carryover funds and how they intend to use them in the next year, as required by the LIHEAP statute. Section III of Q4 report asks for the final carryover and reallotment amounts for that year and remarks.

The LIHEAP statute (42 U.S.C. § 8626) requires grant recipients to submit information necessary for administration of carryover and reallotment. Pursuant to this authority, HHS conditions the release of grant awards upon submission of the Carryover and Reallotment information provided through the Quarterly Report.

Assurances and Certifications:

The assurances displayed in the Section 21 of the LIHEAP Model Plan are from the federal LIHEAP statute (42 U.S.C. § 8624(b)(1)-(16)). LIHEAP regulations at 45 CFR § 96.10(b) require that the 16 assurances (15 for tribes) in the LIHEAP statute be certified by the grant recipient’s Chief Executive Officer or “by an individual authorized to make such certifications on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer.” For the LIHEAP Model Plan to be accepted, please be sure that the governor or tribal chairperson (1) certifies the assurances or (2) has specifically delegated authority to “certify” the LIHEAP Assurances to another person or position (not merely the

department or agency). The grant recipient must attach a delegation letter to the LIHEAP Model

Plan in OLDC, and the letter must explicitly specify that the individual is authorized to certify the federal LIHEAP assurances.

In addition to the LIHEAP Model Plan, grant recipients must also complete or update the Mandatory Grant Application SF-424, which is the first section of the LIHEAP Model Plan in OLDC. The person that is designated to “certify to the LIHEAP assurances” must have an OLDC account and, while logged into their OLDC account, must be the person that clicks the “Certify” and “Click to Sign” buttons for the LIHEAP Model Plan in OLDC. Therefore, if the governor or tribal chairperson chooses not to designate someone else to sign the LIHEAP assurances, then the governor or tribal chairperson must have their own account and “certify” the FY27 LIHEAP Model Plan in OLDC.

States, the District of Columbia, and territories receiving more than $200,000 must describe in their new FY27 Plan how they will carry out assurance 15 (section 2605(b)(15)) of the LIHEAP Act, see 42 U.S.C. § 8624(b)(15)). Assurance 15 requires such grant recipients to offer LIHEAP intake services in addition to those available through agencies also administering the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. An attachment detailing this plan may be added or entered in any of the fields in Sections 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4.

Other Certifications:

1. Section 18 — All LIHEAP grant recipients must agree to the Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters.
2. Section 19 — All LIHEAP grant recipients must submit the Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements unless a state has submitted a statewide assurance to the S. Department of Health and Human Services. When completing this certification, be sure to enter the grant recipient’s physical address in the appropriate fields. No post office (P.O.) boxes allowed.
3. Section 20 —All states must file the Certification Regarding Lobbying certifying they will not use federal funds for And, if applicable, complete Form LLL, which discloses lobbying payments if they use non-federal funds to lobby in connection with the award. Tribes and tribal organizations with awards less than $100,000 are not required to complete the Certification Regarding Lobbying.
4. Assurances—All LIHEAP grant recipients must agree to the assurances at 42 S.C. § 8624(b)(1)-(16), unless otherwise exempted by law.

The LIHEAP Plan form in OLDC, Sections 18-21, incorporates all the above certifications. Please ensure that the certification checkbox is marked in the required certification section.

Meaningful and Timely Public Participation:

• States and Territories: The federal law requires states and territories to conduct public hearings on the proposed use and distribution of funds as outlined in the

FY27 LIHEAP Plan (42 U.S.C. § 8624(a)(2)). Grant recipients should follow their own state and territorial procedures for public hearings.

• Tribes: No hearing is required of tribal grant recipients. However, tribal grant recipients are required to obtain timely and meaningful public participation or input from their communities regarding their draft or proposed FY27 LIHEAP Plan (42 U.S.C. § 8624(b)(12)). This may include some combination of web postings, public service announcements, comments by email or phone, stakeholder calls, surveys, Tribes must follow their tribal-wide rules for public participation that they would use with their own tribal funding. Note: Timely means that the public participation process must be completed in advance of and prior to the submission of the Plan to get public comments and allow enough time for internal review.

Required Plan Attachments:

The following documents must be attached to the application in OLDC to be considered complete:

• Delegation Letter (required if someone other than the Chief Executive, g., a governor or tribal chairperson certified the FY Plan in OLDC).
• Benefit matrix or matrices showing at least three varying measures (income, household size, and home energy costs or needs) to determine benefit types and amounts of assistance, such as heating, cooling, and crisis assistance. Use the applicable new income guidelines published here. See 42 U.S.C. § 8624(b)(5) for the benefit assurance and 42 S.C. § 8622(4) for the definition of “highest home energy needs”)
• Minutes, notes, or transcripts of public hearing(s) (states and territories only).
• Evidence of Public Participation for Tribes (Tribes).
• Optional: Policy Manual, Subrecipient

For Tribal Applicants:

OCS encourages directly funded tribes that receive smaller annual LIHEAP grants to consider joining an existing consortium in their state(s) or forming a consortium with neighboring tribes to reduce the administrative burden of the LIHEAP Plan submission and the required reports. For information on how to form or join a consortium, inquire with your federal LIHEAP Office. This information is available under Section B of the LIHEAP Grantee Resource Guide (formerly known as the Tribal Manual).

Submission Deadline Extension: If a grant recipient anticipates needing an extension beyond the September 1, 2026, Plan submission deadline, the grant recipient must submit a letter requesting a deadline extension. The letter must be uploaded as an attachment to an “initialized” FY27 Plan in OLDC. The request must provide a specific, reasonable alternative date

and a brief explanation of the reason for needing an extension. Tribal grant recipients must obtain written agreement of the extension date from the state(s) in which the tribe’s service areas are located. The state’s concurrence must also be included as an attachment to the initialized 2027 Plan. Extension requests must be submitted prior to Tuesday, September 1, 2026.

Follow-up Action on Plan Submissions: Upon receipt of FY27 Plans, OCS staff will review the Plans and either reject the Plan back to the grant recipient via OLDC or accept the plan in OLDC. Grant recipients whose plans are “accepted” in OLDC have no further action to take on the Plan. Grant recipients whose plans are “rejected” in OLDC must take immediate action to edit their Plans according to the comments in the OLDC review sections of the Plan and resubmit the edited Plan to OCS within the deadline indicated in the Plan review remarks in OLDC. The federal LIHEAP regulations require that this editing process must be completed no later than December 15, 2026. This deadline is only regarding edits and attachments that are necessary to resolve missing or inadequate information in the original Plan submission.

OCS will only issue FY27 LIHEAP funding upon an appropriation from Congress; apportionment from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and the receipt and acceptance of a LIHEAP Plan submission that meets statutorily required information. All LIHEAP grant recipients have an ongoing responsibility throughout the grant period to submit revised Plans and reports, as needed, to reflect changes to ensure HHS ACF OCS has final, actual program data.

INQUIRIES: For questions regarding this Model Plan guidance, please contact: Kate Thomas

Senior Advisor

Office of Community Services Email: kate.thomas@acf.hhs.gov Phone: (202)690-5737

RELATED REFERENCES: The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 8621 et seq.) and LIHEAP-IM-2026-01 Federal Poverty Guidelines and State Median Income Estimates for Optional Use in FY26 and Mandatory Use in FY27

Please contact Help@GrantSolutions.gov for an OLDC account. Please contact the LIHEAP Office immediately if you have questions about the FY27 Model Plan submission process.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. OCS looks forward to continuing to provide high-quality services to OCS partners.

/s/

Corine Frank Director

Office of Community Services