# Ohio · electric, gas, and natural gas — Winter utility shutoff/disconnection moratorium by state

For Ohio · electric, gas, and natural gas, state is Ohio; citation is 4901:1-18-06; moratorium window is within the period of November first through April fifteenth, unless the utility company completes each of the following; covered utilities is electric, gas, and natural gas, verified against its source on 2026-08-19.

- **State:** Ohio _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Citation:** 4901:1-18-06 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Moratorium window:** within the period of November first through April fifteenth, unless the utility company completes each of the following _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Covered utilities:** electric, gas, and natural gas _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> Rule 4901:1-18-06 Disconnection procedures for electric, gas, and natural gas utilities. Effective: November 1, 2021 (A) If a residential customer is delinquent, as defined in paragraph (A) of rule 4901:1-18-04 of the Administrative Code, in paying for regulated services, the utility company may, after at least fourteen days' notice, disconnect the customer's service during normal utility company business hours in compliance with all of the following conditions. (1) No disconnections for nonpayment shall be made after twelve-thirty p.m. on the day preceding a day on which all services necessary for the customer to arrange and the utility company to perform reconnection are not regularly performed. (2) On the day of disconnection of service, the utility company shall provide the customer with personal notice. If the customer is not at home, the utility company shall provide personal notice to an adult consumer. If neither the customer nor an adult consumer is at home, the utility company shall attach written notice to the premises in a conspicuous location prior to disconnecting service. (3) Third-party or guarantor notification. (a) Each utility company shall permit a residential customer to designate a third party to receive notice of the pending disconnection of the customer's service and any other delinquent payment reminder notices sent to the customer. If the customer has a guarantor, the guarantor shall receive notice of the pending disconnection of the guaranteed customer's service and any other delinquent payment reminder notices sent to the guaranteed customer, pursuant to rule 4901:1-17-03 of the Administrative Code. The utility company shall notify the third party or the guarantor at least fourteen days prior to disconnecting the customer's service. (b) The utility company shall inform the third party that his/her receipt of such notices does not constitute acceptance of any liability by the third party for payment for service provided to the customer unless the third party has also agreed, in writing, to be a guarantor for the customer. Page 1 (c) In compliance with division (E) of section 4933.12 and division (D) of section 4933.121 of the Revised Code, if the utility company plans to disconnect the residential utility service of a customer for the nonpayment of his/her bill, and that customer resides in an Ohio county in which the department of job and family services has provided the utility company with a written request for notification of residential service disconnection prior to the disconnection, then the utility company shall provide, during the period of the fifteenth of November to the fifteenth of April, the appropriate county department of job and family services with a listing, electronically if feasible, of those customers whose service will be disconnected for nonpayment. This information will include at a minimum, the customer's first name, middle initial, last name, service address, and county of residence, and shall be made available to the county department of job and family services simultaneous with the generation of any ten-day disconnection notices being distributed to customers. The county department of job and family services may use this information to assist customers in the payment of delinquent utility bills in an effort to avoid disconnection of service. (d) Upon the request of a property owner or the agent of a property owner, each utility company shall provide the property owner or the agent of a property owner with at least three days' advance notice when service to his/her property is to be disconnected either at the request of a residential customer who is a tenant or for nonpayment. (4) Utility company employees or agents of the utility company who disconnect service at the premises may or may not, at the discretion of the utility company, be authorized to make extended payment arrangements. Utility company employees or agents who disconnect service shall be authorized to complete one of the following: (a) Accept payment in lieu of disconnection. (b) Dispatch an employee to the premises to accept payment. (c) Make available to the customer another means to avoid disconnection. (5) The disconnection notice may be mailed separately or included on the regular monthly bill. If the notice is included on the regular monthly bill, it shall be prominently identified as a disconnection notice. The following information shall be clearly displayed either on the disconnection notice or in Page 2 documents accompanying the disconnection notice: (a) The delinquent billing account number, the total amount required to prevent disconnection of the regulated services provided by the utility company, and/or any security deposit owed at the time of the notice. (b) The earliest date when disconnection may occur. (c) The local or toll-free number and address of the utility company's office for customers to contact about their account. (d) The following statement: "If you have a complaint in regard to this disconnection notice that can not be resolved after you have called (name of utility company), or for general utility company information, residential and business customers may contact the public utilities commission of Ohio (PUCO) for assistance at 1- 800-686-7826 (toll free) from eight a.m. to five p.m. weekdays, or at http://www.puco.ohio.gov. Hearing or speech impaired customers may contact the PUCO via 7-1-1 (Ohio relay service). The Ohio consumer counsel (OCC) represents residential utility customers in matters before the PUCO. The OCC can be contacted at 1-877-742-5622 (toll free) from eight a.m. to five p.m. weekdays, or at http://www.pickocc.org." (e) A statement that the customer's failure to pay the amount on the disconnection notice at the utility company's office or to one of its authorized agents before the date specified on the disconnection notice may require payment of a security deposit and a charge for reconnection. The statement shall also include the amount of the security deposit and the reconnection charge. (f) If applicable, a statement that the failure to pay charges for nontariffed products or services may result in the loss of those products and/or services. (g) An explanation of the payment plans and options available to a customer whose account is delinquent, as provided in this rule and rule 4901:1-18-05 of the Administrative Code, and Page 3 percentage of income payment plan (PIPP plus), pursuant to rule 4901:1-18-12 of the Administrative Code, and, when applicable, rule 4901:1-18-09 of the Administrative Code. (h) If disconnection of service is to occur as a result of nonpayment, a statement that a medical certification program and forms are available from the utility company for customers or consumers where the disconnection of service would be especially dangerous to the health of those persons. (i) A statement that a listing of the utility company's authorized payment agents is available by calling the utility company's toll-free customer service number. (B) No utility company shall disconnect the service of a customer for nonpayment where the date of disconnection occurs within the period of November first through April fifteenth, unless the utility company completes each of the following: (1) Makes contact with the customer or other adult consumer at the premises ten days prior to disconnection of service by personal contact, telephone, or hand-delivered written notice. Utility companies may also make contact by sending the notice by regular, U.S. mail; however, such notice must allow three calendar days for mailing. This additional notice shall extend the date of disconnection, as stated on the fourteen-day notice required by paragraph (A) of this rule, by ten additional days. (2) Informs the customer or adult consumer that sources of federal, state, and local government aid for payment of utility bills and for home weatherization are available at the time

## Source

- https://codes.ohio.gov/assets/laws/administrative-code/authenticated/4901/1/18/4901$1-18-06_20211101.pdf

Last verified: 2026-08-19. Review by: 2027-02-15.
Part of [Winter utility shutoff/disconnection moratorium by state](https://referencesource.org/utility-shutoff-moratorium-by-state/).