{ "name": "Winter utility disconnection moratorium dates by state", "description": "Which calendar window each state bars an electric or gas utility from disconnecting a residential heating customer for non-payment, who the protection covers, and what a household has to do to be covered. This is not a one-time lifecycle date (like a filing deadline) and not a dollar threshold that varies by state (like a statute of limitations) -- it is a window that recurs every year, on dates a public utility commission or legislature sets, and that a household loses the moment they miss the condition attached to it (an income test, a deferred payment agreement, a demonstration of eligibility). One record per state. Answers 'can my gas get shut off in winter', 'when does the heating moratorium start in Illinois', 'utility shutoff protection dates by state', 'does my state have a winter moratorium'. Every record quotes the state's own statute or administrative code, not a legal-aid or tenant-rights summary -- summaries routinely print last year's dates or omit the eligibility condition, and the condition is what turns 'utilities cannot disconnect anyone' into 'utilities cannot disconnect a customer whose income is at or below 50 percent of the state median', which is a materially different fact. NOTE ON QUOTE LENGTH: several states set the window in one subsection and the eligibility condition in another, so a record's source_quote is the contiguous run of the provision that contains both, which on Wisconsin runs past two intervening subsections. That is deliberate. A shorter quote would mean publishing the window without the condition that limits it, which is the exact error this asset exists to prevent.", "url": "https://referencesource.org/utility-winter-shutoff-moratorium-by-state/", "licence": "Facts taken from state statutory and administrative-code sources, each with a verbatim attributed quote and a link back to the publishing legislature or agency. Government rules and statutory text carry no copyright (edicts of government); Cornell's LII is used only as a reachable host for state administrative code, and what is taken from it is the code text itself, not LII's own editorial material.", "last_verified": "2026-08-30", "stale_after": "2027-03-16", "sources": [ "https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/illinois/Ill-Admin-Code-tit-83-SS-280.135", "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/216B.097", "https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/montana/Mont-Admin-r-38.5.1410", "https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/N-J-A-C-14-3-3A-5", "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/psc/113/III/0304" ], "records": [ { "state": "Illinois", "applies_to": "any residential customer or master-metered apartment building", "window": "during the period of time from December 1 through and including March 31 of the immediately succeeding calendar year", "trigger_condition": "Has offered the customer a winter deferred payment arrangement (winter DPA) allowing for payment of past due amounts over a period of not less than four months not to extend beyond the following November", "citation": "280.135", "id": "illinois", "url": "https://referencesource.org/utility-winter-shutoff-moratorium-by-state/illinois/", "source": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/illinois/Ill-Admin-Code-tit-83-SS-280.135", "source_quote": "no electric or gas public utility shall disconnect service to any residential customer or master-metered apartment building for nonpayment of a bill or deposit where gas or electricity is used as the primary source of space heating equipment at the premises during the period of time from December 1 through and including March 31 of the immediately succeeding calendar year, unless: 1 The utility: A Has offered the customer a winter deferred payment arrangement (winter DPA) allowing for payment of past due amounts over a period of not less than four months not to extend beyond the following November", "verified_fields": [ "applies_to", "citation", "trigger_condition", "window" ], "derived_fields": [ "state" ] }, { "state": "Minnesota", "applies_to": "A municipal utility or a cooperative electric association", "window": "during the period between October 1 and April 30", "trigger_condition": "all of the following conditions are met: (1) The household income of the customer is at or below 50 percent of the state median household income", "citation": "216B.097", "id": "minnesota", "url": "https://referencesource.org/utility-winter-shutoff-moratorium-by-state/minnesota/", "source": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/216B.097", "source_quote": "A municipal utility or a cooperative electric association must not disconnect and must reconnect the utility service of a residential customer during the period between October 1 and April 30 if the disconnection affects the primary heat source for the residential unit and all of the following conditions are met: (1) The household income of the customer is at or below 50 percent of the state median household income. A municipal utility or cooperative electric association utility may (i) verify income on forms it provides or (ii) obtain verification of income from the local energy assistance provider. A customer is deemed to meet the income requirements of this clause if the customer receives any form of public assistance, including energy assistance, that uses an income eligibility threshold set at or below 50 percent of the state median household income. (2) A customer enters into and makes reasonably timely payments under a payment agreement that considers the financial resources of the household", "verified_fields": [ "applies_to", "citation", "trigger_condition", "window" ], "derived_fields": [ "state" ] }, { "state": "Montana", "applies_to": "residential service", "window": "During the period November 1st to April 1st", "trigger_condition": "the customer establishes that he or she is unable to pay, or able to pay only installments, that he or she or a member of the household is at least 62 years old or that he or she or a member of the household is handicapped", "citation": "38.5.1410", "id": "montana", "url": "https://referencesource.org/utility-winter-shutoff-moratorium-by-state/montana/", "source": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/montana/Mont-Admin-r-38.5.1410", "source_quote": "During the period November 1st to April 1st and on any day when the reported ambient air temperature at 8:00 a.m. is at or below freezing or if the U.S. Weather Service forecasts a snowstorm or freezing temperatures for the succeeding 24-hour period, no termination of residential service may take place if the customer establishes that he or she is unable to pay, or able to pay only installments, that he or she or a member of the household is at least 62 years old or that he or she or a member of the household is handicapped", "verified_fields": [ "applies_to", "citation", "trigger_condition", "window" ], "derived_fields": [ "state" ] }, { "state": "New Jersey", "applies_to": "Electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities", "window": "during the period from November 15 through March 15", "trigger_condition": "those residential customers who demonstrate at the time of the intended termination that they are: 1. Recipients of benefits under the Lifeline Credit Program; 2. Recipients of benefits under the Federal Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), or certified as eligible therefore under standards set by the New Jersey Department of Human Services; 3. Recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); 4. Recipients of Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI); 5. Recipients of Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD); 6. Recipients of General Assistance (GA) benefits; 7. Recipients of the Universal Service Fund (USF); 8. Applicants of the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program or any other State, local, or utility program that provides assistance or discounted rates specifically to help eligible customers pay wastewater or water bills that may exist at that time; or 9. Residential customers who are unable to pay their utility bills because of circumstances beyond their control.", "citation": "14:3-3A.5", "id": "new-jersey", "url": "https://referencesource.org/utility-winter-shutoff-moratorium-by-state/new-jersey/", "source": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/N-J-A-C-14-3-3A-5", "source_quote": "Electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities shall not discontinue service during the period from November 15 through March 15 (referred to in this section as the \"heating season\"), unless otherwise ordered by the Board, to those residential customers who demonstrate at the time of the intended termination that they are: 1. Recipients of benefits under the Lifeline Credit Program; 2. Recipients of benefits under the Federal Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), or certified as eligible therefore under standards set by the New Jersey Department of Human Services; 3. Recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); 4. Recipients of Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI); 5. Recipients of Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD); 6. Recipients of General Assistance (GA) benefits; 7. Recipients of the Universal Service Fund (USF); 8. Applicants of the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program or any other State, local, or utility program that provides assistance or discounted rates specifically to help eligible customers pay wastewater or water bills that may exist at that time; or 9. Residential customers who are unable to pay their utility bills because of circumstances beyond their control. Such circumstances shall include, but shall not be limited to, unemployment, illness, medically related expenses, recent death of an immediate family member, and any other circumstances, which might cause financial hardship.", "verified_fields": [ "applies_to", "citation", "trigger_condition", "window" ], "derived_fields": [ "state" ] }, { "state": "Wisconsin", "applies_to": "utility service which provides the primary heat source or energy source affecting the primary heat source to residential dwelling units", "window": "during the period November 1 to April 15 in any year", "trigger_condition": "A utility may disconnect only those households whose gross quarterly incomes are above 250% of the federal income poverty guidelines", "citation": "PSC 113.0304", "id": "wisconsin", "url": "https://referencesource.org/utility-winter-shutoff-moratorium-by-state/wisconsin/", "source": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/psc/113/III/0304", "source_quote": "This section applies to disconnections for nonpayment of utility service which provides the primary heat source or energy source affecting the primary heat source to residential dwelling units occurring during the period November 1 to April 15 in any year for all occupied residences. PSC 113.0304(2)(b) (b) This section shall not apply to disconnections of service as set forth in s. PSC 113.0301 (1m) (b) , (4) , or (5) , or disconnections for remodeling or repairs. PSC 113.0304(3) (3) Customer requested termination. With regard to customer-requested termination of service at an unoccupied residence, the utility may rely on verification by the owner or the owner\u2019s agent that the residence is unoccupied, provided that the utility visits the premises at the time of disconnection and verifies that the premises are not occupied. The utility shall keep a written record of the utility determination that the premises are unoccupied. PSC 113.0304(4) (4) Conditions for disconnection. A utility may disconnect only those households whose gross quarterly incomes are above 250% of the federal income poverty guidelines", "verified_fields": [ "applies_to", "citation", "trigger_condition", "window" ], "derived_fields": [ "state" ] } ] }