How to access energy bill help on the Outer Banks
- Corinne Saunders
- 4 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Corinne Saunders
Editor’s Note: This is one of our weekly open-access articles. To support Outer Banks Insider’s work and to access all of it, click the button below.
Several programs are available to potentially assist Outer Banks residents in need of help with energy bills, according to area agencies.
While the start of March has brought warmer temperatures, National Weather Service data indicates a winter so far with overall below-average temperatures recorded in Cape Hatteras, including a record-breaking low temperature on Dec. 15, 2025.
“The recent bills customers are receiving primarily reflect the impact of extreme winter temperatures,” Dominion Energy spokesperson Cherise M. Newsome said in a Monday, March 2, email to North Carolina media outlets about available help for high winter bills.
EnergyShare provides up to $600 of bill payment assistance regardless of the heating source, according to Newsome.
The “program of last resort” has no income restrictions and is available to residents demonstrating a financial hardship in Dominion Energy’s service area, according to the EnergyShare webpage on Dominion Energy’s website.
Dominion Energy serves over 127,000 customers in northeastern North Carolina, with its service area including most of Currituck County and northern Dare County, according to company information.
EnergyShare accepts applications for up to $600 in assistance between Oct. 1 and May 31 and submits them to local nonprofits that help run the program, according to online program information.
The program lists partner contacts of the Dare County Department of Social Services (DSS) in Dare County and Interfaith Community Outreach in Currituck.
Kelly Nettnin Fleming, health education and outreach supervisor for the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services, confirmed that DSS in Dare and Interfaith Community Outreach in Currituck facilitate the program.
“Most households that apply are approved and the number of apps varies depending on how much we receive each year,” Nettnin Fleming said in an email. “Last year we took 161 applications.”
Interfaith Community Outreach distributed $63,132 last year to 129 Currituck families through the EnergyShare program, which the United Way manages, according to Executive Director Jenniffer Albanese.
As of the end of February, the Kill Devil Hills-based nonprofit had already distributed $40,000 through the program, Albanese said. With three months remaining in this year’s program window, she expects this year’s total assistance provided to be higher, between $70-75,000.
“No one was expecting these high power bills for three months with how cold our weather has been,” she said. “And there’s an increase in your power bill too, right now, so a lot of people are starting to see, you know, very large bills.”
Currituck County residents can apply for EnergyShare assistance online—or if needed, via mailed application or over the phone, Albanese said.
Prior to last year, residents ages 60 and up could apply without a power shutoff notice, she said.
“They changed that rule last year so everybody that’s applying for this program has to have a shutoff,” she said.
The only exception now is for customers with medical paperwork from a doctor on file with Dominion Energy. This prevents shutoffs for reasons of keeping insulin refrigerated, keeping breathing machines running and other medical reasons, Albanese explained.
In those cases where assistance is needed with a power bill and the person has medical paperwork on file, “we’re allowed to just pay the $600 [maximum program funding] with no questions asked,” she said.
While Interfaith manages the EnergyShare program for Currituck residents, many of its other programs serve residents of both Currituck and Dare counties who are facing temporary emergency crises, Albanese noted.
Other programs
A federal program has an annual application window to help low-income residents with winter energy costs.
The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) program annually helps eligible families pay their heating bills, according to a Dec. 8, 2025, Dare County press release.
Currituck County published a similar press release on Dec. 10, 2025.
Households with a person aged 60 or older or a person receiving disability benefits and services through the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services, could apply for assistance through the program from Dec. 10-31, according to the releases. Between Jan. 1 and March 31, or until funds are exhausted, all other households can apply.
Dare County DSS received 23 applications in December 2024 and 16 applications in December 2025, according to Nettnin Fleming. The program saw 192 applications between January and March 2024, while there had been 135 applications this current cycle, she said in a March 3 email.
Award amounts per household are $300, $400 or $500, she said.
“The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which includes the LIEAP program in North Carolina, was created by Congress in 1981,” Nettnin Fleming said.
She encouraged anyone having difficulties paying their energy bills to reach out to DSS.
“We would be honored to work with them to come up with a solution,” she said.
A Dominion Energy worker insulates a pipe as part of a weatherization project. (Photo courtesy Dominion Energy)
Dominion Energy offers energy usage alerts, energy audits and budget billing, which keeps bills consistent to avoid “seasonal swings,” according to Newsome.
Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, serving Hatteras Island, provides free home energy assessments, according to its website.
Tideland EMC, which serves Hyde County and mainland Dare County, offers weatherization loans and an “Operation Round Up” program through which members can choose to round up their bills to assist other customers who are struggling to pay their bills, according to the Tideland EMC website.
--------
Editor’s Note: Strong local journalism directly impacts your quality of life. You’re busy, and attempting to stay on top of all the important issues that affect you and your community can be taxing. We are here to stand watch for you, making sure you stay informed about what’s happening in our area, all while providing an advertisement-free, easy-on-the-eyes platform, for less than the cost of a bag of chips a month.