Help Paying Your Electric Bill in Fort Worth: CEAP and What Actually Works
Electric bills in Tarrant County spike twice a year — August heat and January cold — and the help that exists is real but has a front door most people never find. Here it is.
The main door: CEAP through the City of Fort Worth
The Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) pays toward electric and gas bills for lower-income households, and in Fort Worth it runs through the city’s Community Action Partners: 817-392-2276. You will need your most recent bill, ID, proof of income, and Social Security cards for the household. Funds are first-come and run out in peak months — call early in the month, and ask to be put on the list even if this month’s money is gone.
The county route: Center for Transforming Lives
If the city’s funds are closed, try the county’s utility help through Center for Transforming Lives: 817-607-8137. They can also help when the electric bill is tangled up with rent you owe.
Before it becomes a shutoff
If you have a disconnect notice, call your electric provider and ask for a deferred payment plan the same day — Texas rules require providers to offer one in many situations, and a plan on file can pause a shutoff while your CEAP application moves. Then call 2-1-1 for church and charity pledge funds in your ZIP code; those small funds exist specifically for shutoff emergencies.
Winter is the next spike
Heating season help is covered in our guide to heating bill help this winter — including how CEAP, payment plans, and charity funds stack together.
Electric is one bill of many: the free 2-minute check matches you to utility help plus rent, food, health, and childcare programs: Check what you qualify for — or browse all utility programs.
