Our goal is to help all Mainers save on their electricity costs. Utility billing and government benefit programs can be complex and confusing. For households receiving benefits through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Low-Income Assistance Program (LIAP), a community solar subscription could sometimes increase your total electricity costs, depending on your benefit amount and electricity usage.
We’re here to make it easier to understand your real costs and savings.
If your household receives LIHEAP or LIAP benefits, read below to learn how we ensure your costs will decrease with our community solar program.
What are LIHEAP and LIAP?
LIHEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) helps low-income households pay for home heating (oil, gas, or electric). In Maine, this program is administered by Maine Housing and your local Community Action Agency (CAA). Funds are sent directly to your heating vendor to lower your monthly bill. You can apply online at the Maine Housing website or contact your local CAA for assistance.
LIAP (Low-Income Assistance Program) helps low-income households pay electricity costs through a credit on their electric bills. You can apply for LIAP as part of your LIHEAP application. Your local CAA can help you connect to this program.
How does the this affect my electric bill?
LIHEAP and LIAP provide a credit directly on your utility account.
For example, if you receive a $500 benefit:
- Your electric account will show a -$500 balance. (You may see a line on the second page of our bill like "LiHeap payment applied: -$500")
- If your February bill is $100, $100 of your credit is applied, reducing your bill to $0, leaving $400 in remaining credit.
Without a community solar subscription, this works seamlessly. Your credit is used until it’s fully applied, then you resume paying your utility bill as usual.
How does this work with a community solar subscription?
Because LIHEAP and LIAP benefits are applied directly to your utility bill, adding a community solar subscription can sometimes leave some of your benefits unused.
When MCPC applies solar credits to your Central Maine Power (CMP) account, your usage may drop to 0 kWh, meaning your benefit credits can only be applied to the fixed service charge (about $30/month as of December 2025).
For example:
- If your bill is $100 and solar credits reduce it to $30, your remaining benefit credit pays that $30.
- Your community solar provider still charges for the solar credits.
- If your benefit balance is more than $350, some of it may go unused by the end of the year, which can increase your annual electricity costs.
How does MCPC ensure my costs won’t increase?
If you receive LIHEAP or LIAP, we will contact you before assigning your account to a solar project to ensure we'll actually save you money. We will not assign your account if it could increase your electricity costs.
When subscribed to MCPC’s community solar program:
- If your LIHEAP/LIAP credit is more than $350, we wait to assign your account until your credit is fully used. We can monitor your credit balance and assign your account safely after your benefit credit is used.
- If your credit is less than $350, it can be applied to the delivery charge each month (up to $358.56/year). This means we can safely assign your account to our projects without increasing your costs.
Questions?
We're here to help. Email us at support@mainecommunitypower.com or call 207-358-8973.