Heat the Streets has a March date. Utility help cannot wait.

The next Heat the Streets Run & Walk for Warmth has a date: Saturday, March 6, 2027, at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village, 2285 S. 67th Street, Omaha. But the useful part of the announcement for a household facing a difficult bill is not just the date on the running calendar. The assistance programs it supports have contact routes families can use now.

The event and the help are different doors

M.U.D. and OPPD describe the 2027 event as the twentieth annual fundraiser. Registration is open, according to M.U.D.’s announcement. Money raised is administered by Dollar Energy Fund and allocated to M.U.D.’s Home Fund and OPPD’s Energy Assistance Program.

M.U.D. reports that the 2026 event raised more than $277,000 and benefited approximately 825 households across the two utilities’ service territories. That is the utility’s reported past result, not a promise about what any applicant will receive this winter. The March fundraiser is a way to support the programs, not a requirement for asking them for help.

If the bill is the immediate problem

M.U.D.’s utility-assistance page says the first step is the Nebraska Energy Assistance Program. It points Omaha-area readers to ACCESSNebraska and 402-595-1258. The same page explains Home Fund applications through partner agencies, with an agency-finder hotline at 1-888-650-9132 and a phone application route through United Way of the Midlands at 2-1-1.

OPPD’s Energy Assistance Program also lists partner agencies and a 2-1-1 phone application route. A separate Customer Assistance Program offers a monthly bill credit under its own requirements and limited pilot enrollment. Those are distinct programs. Do not assume a charity event registration, one utility’s application or one eligibility rule opens every route.

Nebraska DHHS’s LIHEAP page currently says automatic heating payments for eligible households will be issued when federal funds are received. It directs people with a heating-provider shut-off notice, or at risk of receiving one, to 800-383-4278. Availability and individual eligibility must come from the administering agency, not an article.

Keep the official contacts close

The fundraiser announcement lists OPPD customer service at 402-536-4131 in the Omaha area and M.U.D. at 402-554-6666 for customers struggling with bills. Start with the utility or the official assistance page and ask about your circumstances. This article does not promise funding, calculate assistance or replace the full program requirements.

Read M.U.D.’s event announcement, M.U.D.’s utility-assistance instructions, OPPD’s EAP page and DHHS’s LIHEAP page. Public service information, not a sponsored deal. Checked November 7, 2026 CST.