KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
What is PIPP?
Virginia’s PIPP or Percent of Income Payment Program offers low-income households income-based rates for monthly Dominion energy bills. Customers still owe the full balance on their bill, but only have to pay either 6% or 10% of their income every month during their enrollment.
- If your heat is included in your electricity bill, you will pay 10% of your income. If your heat is a separate payment (e.g., gas bill) you will pay 6% of your income.
For each month that you pay your PIPP payment on time and in full, you will receive a credit to remove 1/12th of any past due balance. After 12 months of in-full and on-time payments, your outstanding account balance will be paid off. If you choose to re-enroll the following year, you will only have to pay your PIPP amount and your prior past-due balance will be gone.
- Example:
- José makes $1000 a month and has a $300 energy bill (that includes heat) every month. So, he will pay $100 (10% of his monthly income) towards his bill. The other $200 of his energy bill will be covered as a credit given by PIPP.
- José already owes Dominion Energy $1200 from previous unpaid bills. For every PIPP payment he pays in-full and on-time, 1/12 of his outstanding balance will be taken off of his account each month. For example, after one month of paying the appropriate PIPP payment ($100), he will receive a $100 credit toward the past due balance. After 12 months of making these payments, his outstanding balance would be $0, and he would only have to pay for the current month’s bill the following year.
- Summary: José’s PIPP amount is $100 per month. Each month that he pays $100 on-time and in-full, he will receive a $200 credit to cover the remainder of his monthly energy bill, and a $100 credit to cover 1/12 of his past due bill. Over 12 months of paying on-time and in-full, his past due balance will be removed from his bills as covered.
**Currently, this program is only applicable if you use Dominion Energy but, ApCo will be added to the program in the summer of 2024. Rules may vary slightly.
Do I Qualify?/Am I Eligible?
- You are eligible If your household income falls at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level and you’re a Dominion Energy Customer.
2024 Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
| Family Size | 150% of the FPL |
| Family of 1 | $22,590 |
| Family of 2 | $30,660 |
| Family of 3 | $38,730 |
| Family of 4 | $46,500 |
- PIPP can only be applied to primary residential accounts
- Not eligible if your electric is part of rent fees or if the energy account is closed
**There are some restrictions for non-citizen and mixed status households, but that doesn’t mean that you are not eligible. For more info contact one of our offices.
How Do I Apply?
- Applications are accepted year-round.
- Apply online at CommonHelp Online
or
- Print the paper application and bring to local Department of Social Services (DSS)
- Your local Department of Social Services (DSS) has 30 days to process your application.
- Your application will not be processed if it is not properly signed, so make sure to carefully fill out the application and answer all questions.
- PIPP does not stop a disconnection if the disconnection has already happened, but if you have not yet been disconnected, PIPP can reduce the amount of money due to prevent disconnection.
How To Make PIPP work for you?
PIPP is not a good choice for everyone! It can be helpful for people with high monthly energy bills, but individual circumstances will vary. Before deciding to enroll in PIPP, you should evaluate whether your current monthly energy bill will become higher if you were supposed to pay 10% of your monthly income.
- Use this equation to determine what your PIPP payment would be:
- If heat is included in your electricity bill:
- Monthly Income before taxes x 0.1 = your possible PIPP payment.
- If heat is not included in your electricity bill:
- Monthly Income before taxes x 0.06 = your possible PIPP payment
If your possible PIPP payment is higher than your current monthly energy bill, it is likely that PIPP is not more affordable for you, contact our office for assistance making this determination.
- Ensure timely and complete monthly PIPP payments to earn credits toward reducing your balance.
- Re-verify your income with the local Department of Social Services (DSS) every 12 months or when the household income changes. Failure to re-verify can lead to program removal.
- Create an online account at DominionEnergy.com and opt for AutoPay to ensure your PIPP payments are paid in full and on time. Note: Autopay is not a good option for everyone. Autopay ensures that payments are made on the same day each month, automatically. If you do not want the bill to be automatically charged to your bank account, do not enroll in autopay.
- If unable to meet your PIPP payment, you can apply for bill payment assistance.
- While enrolled in PIPP, you cannot participate in other Dominion Energy Payment Plans, such as short and long-term payment plans or budget billing.
- You can choose to drop out of PIPP at any time by requesting removal through Dominion or your local Department of Social Service (DSS).
What Happens If I Miss A Payment?
- If you miss a payment, you will not earn the credit toward your past due balance. Even if you make the payment late, you will not earn back the 1/12 credit toward your past due balance.
- If your services are disconnected, you will owe the missed PIPP payment and any amount to reconnect services if it leads to a disconnection.
- If your account is closed (services disconnected and no payment for more than 10 days), you may be removed from PIPP program and may have to pay a security deposit to reopen your account
- If you reopen the account balance, you still have to pay the full month’s balance and the full past due debt on the account.
What if I’m already disconnected?
PIPP does not stop a disconnection if the disconnection has already happened, but if you have not yet been disconnected, PIPP may reduce the amount of money due to prevent disconnection, if processed before the deadline on the disconnection notice. Reminder: The Local DSS has 30 days to process the application for PIPP. If you receive a disconnection notice with a deadline before the 30-day processing deadline expires, you should contact Dominion to discuss other payment options.
Overlap with other Energy Assistance Programs?
- How does PIPP overlap with Serious Medical Condition forms?
- You can still receive a 30-day extension to make your payment, but you must contact Dominion to request the extension.
- How does PIPP overlap with other Energy Assistance programs, such as Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Crisis Assistance?
- You can still apply to these programs if you qualify for them. The DSS should apply the payments to your account once you are found eligible. Note: These programs all have different applications. Applying for PIPP is not automatically an application for LIHEAP or Crisis. To apply for either of those programs, visit the Virginia Department of Social Services.
- Can I seek and receive Energyshare while enrolled in PIPP?
- Yes. EnergyShare is a Dominion Energy Program that can provide emergency assistance if you are having a hard time with your energy bills. For information about EnergyShare see Dominion Energy’s Energy Assistance Page.
