The U.S. Department of Treasury has granted a total of $28.2 million to the City of Memphis and Shelby County to administer the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program. The program will provide Shelby County residents direct financial assistance in the form of emergency rent and utility relief.

Families struggling to pay their utility bill can receive assistance through the Shelby County Community Services Agency LIHEAP program. The program currently has $6 million in funding available through Sept. 30, 2021. Eligible households can receive up to $650 in assistance.

Shelby County Community Services Agency is also offering a Direct Appropriation Grant fund, which provides assistance to residents who are homeless and have secured housing but due to an inactive utility account are unable to receive services at the new residence. CSA will pay up to $1000 on the inactive account to assist them with receiving utility services. Customers can receive both LIHEAP and DAG funding.

Households who have received assistance in the current fiscal year are not eligible to receive assistance. To apply for utility assistance, customers can call (901) 222-4200 or visit shelbycountycsa.org/services/energy-assistance. To apply for emergency rental assistance, customers can text HOME901 to 21000 or visit home901.org.

MLGW also has several utlity assistance programs available. Find a list of available MLGW programs here: mlgw.com/residential/assistanceprograms.

A full list of community resources can be found here: mlgw.com/utilityassistance.

MLGW is the largest three-service public power utility in the nation, serving more than 429,000 customers in Memphis and Shelby County.