Brazos County Texas Electric Bill Assistance Program: BVCAP, BTU, and College Station Help

Which utility serves your Brazos County address?

Brazos County is unusual for Texas. Bryan and College Station each own an electric utility, and much of the countryside is served by member-owned co-ops. That means most households here cannot shop for a retail plan, and the bill-help options are set by the utility itself. Look at the company name on your bill, then use this table.

BTU says it serves more than 71,000 customers, so it is the utility most Brazos County residents deal with. Navasota Valley lists Brazos among the nine counties it serves. CEAP can pay any of these companies, and it can also pay a natural gas company such as Atmos Energy or a propane dealer.

The Brazos County Texas electric bill assistance program at BVCAP

CEAP is how Texas spends its share of federal LIHEAP money. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) assigns each county to a local agency. For Brazos County, that agency is Brazos Valley Community Action Programs, which also covers Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Montgomery, Robertson, Walker, Waller, and Washington counties. BVCAP calls the payment side of CEAP its Bill Pay Program, and it can pay electric, natural gas, or propane bills.

Three things about BVCAP’s process trip people up:

• Appointment only. BVCAP says it takes all applications by appointment. Walking in without one may only get you a time slot.
• An online portal. BVCAP moved to an online application system to speed up processing. Its own page admits the new system has had problems and invites people to call or visit for help in person or by phone, in English or Spanish.
• The yearly reset. Even if BVCAP helped you last year, you start over each January 1, or whenever its site says it is taking applications again. It also asks for fresh documents every year.

The office is at 4001 E. 29th St., Suite 175, in Bryan. BVCAP lists (979) 595-2801 for appointments and (979) 595-2850 for its CEAP office. Its contact email is bvcapcontact@bvcog.org. For how CEAP works statewide, including which households go first, see our Texas Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program guide.

Income limit and what BVCAP pays

To qualify for CEAP, a household’s income cannot be more than 150% of the federal poverty guidelines. For one person in 2026, that is roughly $1,995 of monthly income, and the cap goes up for each extra person in the home. Our LIHEAP guide has the full table by household size.

BVCAP does not publish a dollar amount per household on its website. Under state CEAP rules, the agency looks at your income, your household, and your energy bills, and it pays the utility directly rather than giving you cash. Ask at your appointment how much BVCAP expects to pay toward your account and how many months it will cover. Write down the answer and the date.

Utility release forms come first

Privacy rules keep a city utility from sharing your account with an outside agency unless you say it can. BVCAP handles this with release forms, linked from its utility assistance page:

• BTU Release Form: for BTU customers in Brazos and Burleson counties only.
• College Station Release Form: for College Station Utilities customers.
• BlueBonnet Form: for Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative members.

BVCAP says customers of other utilities should ask their provider whether it needs a release form of its own. BTU also posts a Pledge Assistance Authorization Release Form on its ways to pay page, for any group that pledges money to your account. Turning these in with your application, not after, keeps your file from stalling.

Papers BVCAP asks for

BVCAP’s list is shorter than many agencies’, but each item is required:

• Every signature the application asks for.
• Proof of citizenship.
• Photo ID for every household member over 18.
• Proof of income for every household member over 18, or a completed Income Declaration form for anyone with no income.
• A copy of your utility bill or bills.

Bring the bill that shows your past-due balance and any disconnection notice. For tips on getting papers like birth certificates and income letters in one place, use our document checklist.

Bryan Texas Utilities customers

BTU is owned by the City of Bryan and overseen by a board the city council appoints. It has several tools that matter when money is tight:

• Payment extensions. BTU asks customers who cannot pay to call customer service at 979-821-5700, and it posts an Extension Request Form online. Its office is at 2611 N. Earl Rudder Fwy., open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
• PowerShare. BTU customers can round their bill up or give a set amount each month. The PowerShare page says the money goes to Catholic Charities of Central Texas, which decides who qualifies and pays it out. Only BTU residential customers can get this help. To apply, contact Catholic Charities at 979-822-9340.
• Budget billing. BTU averages your last 12 months of bills and sets a flat payment for the next 12. You need a satisfactory credit history with BTU and at least one year at the same address, so it helps more with future bills than with a current crisis.
• Critical care. Under a City of Bryan resolution, BTU will keep serving a past-due home for a reasonable period if cutting power would make someone there seriously ill. The critical care page asks for a doctor’s letter dated within the last 30 days. If that account later faces disconnection, BTU sends a registered letter giving two weeks to pay the past-due amount.

BTU’s payment page also points customers to BVCAP, 2-1-1 Texas, Catholic Charities of Central Texas, the Salvation Army, and SOS Ministries.

College Station Utilities customers

College Station Utilities bills for electric, water, sewer, and garbage service together, so a missed payment can put more than your lights at risk. The city does not run its own bill-help fund. Its utilities page tells customers who need financial help to call 2-1-1 or visit 211texas.org.

What you can still do:

• Call Utility Customer Service at 979-764-3535 (weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and ask what arrangement is possible on your balance. The lobby is in the back of the building at 310 Krenek Tap Rd.
• Send the College Station release form with your BVCAP application so the agency can confirm your account.
• Pay only through the city’s customer portal or its listed processor. The city warns that it does not receive money sent through other payment apps, and you could still be disconnected.

Students renting near Texas A&M should note that the account holder is responsible for the whole bill. The city says it is not responsible for agreements between roommates.

Rural co-op members outside the cities

Homes in the county outside BTU and College Station lines are often served by Navasota Valley Electric Cooperative or MidSouth Electric Co-op. Co-ops are owned by their members, and Navasota Valley describes its system as self-regulating, run by a board the members elect. Billing and disconnection policies come from the co-op, so ask for them in writing.

Navasota Valley’s community resources page lists where members can turn. For Brazos County, the useful entries are:

• BVCAP for CEAP, at the same Bryan office listed above.
• The Brazos Electric Ratepayer Hardship Fund, which gives bill credits to eligible low-income co-op members to offset charges from Winter Storm Uri. The charge shows as SCRF on the bill. The co-op lists 844-770-8549 for the fund. Brazos Electric Cooperative still linked to the fund on its website in November 2026, but ask whether it is taking applications before you count on it.

The same page lists Robertson County and Waco charities, but those mostly serve their own counties. MidSouth is also one of the member co-ops of Brazos Electric Cooperative, so its members can ask whether the same hardship fund covers them. They should call the member service number on their bill and ask about payment arrangements and any local referrals.

Catholic Charities and other Bryan–College Station help

When CEAP is slow or a bill includes charges it will not cover, local charities can help with part of the gap.

• Catholic Charities of Central Texas, Brazos Valley office: 1410 Cavitt Ave., Bryan, 979-822-9340, by appointment. Its financial stability program takes utility bill requests through an online form only and says sending more than one request will not speed things up. This is also the office that hands out BTU PowerShare money.
• The Salvation Army and SOS Ministries both appear on BTU’s list of outside help. Call first to ask what they are funding and what to bring.
• Gas bill events. In April 2026, BVCAP and Atmos Energy held a one-day event in Bryan for Brazos County residents behind on their Atmos gas bills. Watch local news and BVCAP’s Facebook page for similar events.
• 2-1-1 Texas. The 211texas.org directory, or a call to 211, turns up church funds and other short-term help in Bryan and College Station.

How disconnection rules differ here

Many Texans read about Public Utility Commission (PUC) shutoff protections and assume they apply to everyone. In Brazos County, most of them do not:

• BTU and College Station Utilities are city-owned. Their disconnection policies come from city ordinances and their own boards, such as Bryan’s critical care resolution.
• Navasota Valley and MidSouth follow policies their member-elected boards adopt.
• Retail plan customers, if your address is in the competitive market, are covered by the PUC rule at 16 TAC §25.483. It requires a separate disconnection notice at least 10 days ahead, gives an energy assistance agency at least 45 days to pay a pledge, and bars nonpayment disconnections during an extreme weather emergency in your county.

Whatever your utility, ask two questions when you call: “What is the last day I can pay before disconnection?” and “Will you hold off while a BVCAP or charity pledge is pending?”

A one-week plan after a past-due notice

1. Day 1: Call your utility. Ask for the disconnection date, an extension or arrangement, and a printout of your recent bills.
2. Day 1 or 2: Start BVCAP’s online application and call (979) 595-2801 to book an appointment. Say you have a past-due notice.
3. Day 2: Send the BTU or College Station release form so BVCAP can see your account.
4. Day 3: If you are a BTU customer, contact Catholic Charities about PowerShare. Anyone can submit Catholic Charities’ online utility request.
5. Days 4 to 7: Call your utility again with any pledge or appointment numbers. Keep a log of names, dates, and amounts.

Lowering future bills in the Brazos Valley

Brazos Valley summers run the air conditioner for months, and older homes lose much of that cooling. A few steps help:

• Apply for weatherization. BVCAP’s weatherization program installs energy-saving materials for low-income homes. Its office shares the East 29th Street address; call (979) 595-2800, ext. 8001. Our weatherization guide explains how the program works.
• Use BTU’s energy tools. BTU posts home energy tips and runs a SmartHOME program; ask customer service what is open now.
• Try budget billing once you are current. BTU’s 12-month average takes the summer spike out of your monthly payment.
• Check your thermostat settings. A few degrees warmer in summer while you are away adds up over a long cooling season.

Related guides

• Texas utility assistance
• 2-1-1 Texas financial assistance
• Emergency help with utility bills
• Grants for seniors in Texas

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information. Program rules, amounts, and funding are set by BVCAP, TDHCA, the City of Bryan, the City of College Station, the electric cooperatives, and the State of Texas, and they can change. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with any utility, cooperative, or government agency.