Power or gas shutoff notice: your protections and next steps

A notice that your power or gas will be shut off is frightening, but it is almost never the end: there are deadlines between the notice and the shutoff, and several rules protect families with someone sick or during extreme cold and heat. This guide is for anyone who could not pay the bill and has a notice in hand, or has already lost service: it explains what the rules in several states say, where to get fast help and how to complain.

Minimum between notice and shutoff in Texas

10 days⁴

Of written notice before a shutoff in Florida

5 working days⁵

Before the shutoff, the final notice must arrive in New York

15 days⁸

To get LIHEAP crisis help if you qualify

48 hours¹⁰

First: who is cutting off your service?

A utility cutting you off for non-payment is not the same as a landlord cutting your service to make you leave. USAGov explains that each state has a different policy on when utilities can disconnect electricity or gas for non-payment, which may depend on the weather and on which utility you have.¹ A landlord, on the other hand, cannot fail to pay for utilities under their control, the CFPB says.²

Two different problems

Non-payment

The utility cuts you off

• It must give you notice first; the period depends on the state.⁴
• Several states have health and extreme-weather protections.⁹
• You can ask for LIHEAP crisis help.¹⁰

To force you out

The landlord cuts you off

• A landlord cannot fail to pay for utilities under their control.²
• It is an illegal lockout case: get legal help today.²
• If the building's bill is past due, some states require notice to tenants.³

If your landlord cut your service, read the guide on illegal lockouts and utility shutoffs.²

The rules in this guide come from state utility commissions and apply to the power and gas utilities those commissions regulate. In Arizona, for example, the Corporation Commission notes that it does not handle complaints about municipally owned utilities.⁷

The shutoff notice: deadlines vary by state

Before cutting you off for non-payment, the utility must give you notice. These are the deadlines and rules in the states we reviewed:

State	Notice before the shutoff	When they cannot cut you off
Texas (retail electric providers, REPs)	Separate notice with the shutoff date, at least 10 days after the notice4	Holidays, weekends and days payments cannot be taken4
Florida (electric utilities)	At least 5 working days’ written notice, separate from the bill5	From noon Friday to 8 a.m. Monday, and the day before a holiday5
Arizona (regulated electric utilities)	Two written notices and a phone call, at least 48 hours before6	If its offices and call center are not open that day and the next6
New York	Final notice at least 15 days before the shutoff date8	See the health and cold-weather protections below9

Read your notice carefully. In New York, the final notice must state the earliest shutoff date, how much must be paid, how to avoid the shutoff and how to complain.⁸ In Texas, it must say you may be able to make a payment arrangement, set up a deferred payment plan or get help paying.⁴

Some debts are not a reason to cut you off. In Florida, a previous occupant’s debt is not, unless you already lived there when the debt arose and that person still lives with you and uses the service; you can also name someone else to receive copies of notices.⁵ In Arizona, they also cannot cut you off for a prior customer’s debt unless that customer still lives there, or if you paid at least half of your past-due balance in the last 25 days or owe $300 or less.⁶

If someone in your home is sick

Several states protect families with someone sick or dependent on medical equipment, but you almost always have to ask and provide paperwork from a doctor:

• New York: the utility cannot cut off or refuse to restore service when a medical emergency is certified by a doctor or the local board of health. The doctor can call if written certification follows within five business days. It lasts 30 days and can be renewed if you show you cannot pay; for life-sustaining equipment, it stays in effect while the conditions continue. You still owe the bills.⁹
• Texas: if you are a Critical Care customer and a shutoff would make someone seriously ill or worse, before the shutoff date your doctor must contact the provider and send a written statement, and you set up a deferred payment plan. The protection lasts 63 days from when the bill is issued.⁴
• Arizona: if you cannot pay, the utility cannot cut you off when you show each year, with documents from a licensed medical practitioner, that a shutoff would be especially dangerous to health or that medical equipment at home depends on the service; you may be asked for a payment agreement within seven business days.⁶
• Florida: each electric utility must have a procedure in its tariff for when service is medically essential; ask yours what it is.⁵

In New York, if the account holder is blind, disabled or 62 or older, and everyone else at home is 62 or older, 18 or under, blind or disabled, the utility must try to reach an adult at home at least 72 hours ahead to work out a plan and, if that fails, notify social services.⁹

Extreme cold and heat

• Texas: a provider cannot disconnect for non-payment in a county with an extreme weather emergency: when the previous day’s high did not exceed 32 °F and is expected to stay there for 24 hours, or when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory. On request, it must offer a deferred payment plan for bills that come due during the emergency.⁴
• Arizona: each electric utility chooses one of two protections: no shutoffs when the forecast shows 32 °F or lower or above 95 °F, or no shutoffs from June 1 through October 15. In the second case, it cannot charge late fees or interest on past-due amounts from that period.⁶
• New York: from November 1 to April 15, for heating service, the utility must try to reach you or an adult at home at least 72 hours before the shutoff, and ensure communication if there is a language barrier. If someone would suffer serious harm to health or safety, it cannot cut off service until it notifies social services and they report there is no such risk or that another way to protect the person exists.⁹

How to stop the shutoff: payments and crisis help

With the shutoff notice in hand

1. 1. Read the date and the amount

   Today

   Find the earliest shutoff date and how much you need to pay to avoid it.⁸

2. 2. Call the utility

   Today

   Ask for a deferred payment plan; in Texas the notice must say you can ask.⁴

3. 3. Ask for LIHEAP crisis help

   Today or tomorrow

   The law requires a response within 48 hours, or 18 if life is in danger.¹⁰

4. 4. If someone is sick, call the doctor

   Before the shutoff date

   In several states, the doctor must contact the utility and send a certification.⁹

5. 5. Keep everything in writing

   Every time you talk to them

   Write down the date, time and name, and keep receipts for what you pay.⁵

6. 6. If they do not follow the rules, complain

   After talking to the utility

   Your state's utility commission takes complaints against regulated utilities.⁷

The fastest help is LIHEAP crisis aid: federal law requires each state’s program to provide some form of help that resolves the crisis no later than 48 hours after an eligible household applies, or 18 hours if life is in danger.¹⁰ To find your office, the CFPB points to the National Energy Assistance Referral Hotline, (866) 674-6327, and 211.¹¹ The LIHEAP guide explains who qualifies and how to apply.

In Texas, if an energy assistance agency tells the provider it will pay enough before the notice’s due date, and you pay or arrange what the agency does not cover, the provider cannot cut you off that period.⁴ In Arizona, before cutting you off, the utility must tell you about funds from government and social assistance agencies.⁶ In California, the CPUC says it might be able to help if you are behind on bills, and explains how to restart service after a shutoff.¹²

If you were already cut off, follow the same steps: some rules also cover reconnection. In New York, for example, the utility cannot refuse to restore service when a medical emergency is certified.⁹ To keep this from happening again, the emergency fund guide and the family budget tool help you plan.

If your landlord caused the shutoff

If the account is in your landlord’s name and they stopped paying, or they cut your service to make you leave, the situation is different. The CFPB says landlords cannot fail to pay for utilities under their control, and suggests finding a lawyer through your local bar association or a legal aidlegal aidLegal aid is the free civil legal help that nonprofit organizations and their lawyers provide to low-income people in civil, not criminal, matters. In housing, that includes representing families facing eviction or foreclosure, alongside matters such as custody, child support, protection from domestic violence and access to benefits. In the United States, the Legal Services Corporation, created by Congress, funds a nationwide network of these organizations; its finder points you to the one in your area. Each sets its own income limits.See the full definitionClose office.²

Some states protect tenants when the building owner does not pay. In New York, the utility must notify tenants in writing before cutting service, cannot cut it if tenants pay the owner’s current bill directly, and that payment can be deducted from rent.³ In Texas, in a master-metered complex, the provider must post at least five notices in English and Spanish in the hallways, at least four days before the shutoff.⁴

If your landlord cut the service on purpose to force you out, that is an illegal lockoutillegal lockoutAn illegal lockout happens when the landlord shuts you out of your home by changing the locks without a court order. A landlord cannot force you out that way, or pressure you by cutting off utilities under the landlord's control. To evict you, the landlord must follow the legal process: written notice, a court case and a judge's order. Most states prohibit removing or shutting out a tenant without a court order. Depending on your state's law, you may be able to get back into the home, end the lease or recover damages.See the full definitionClose or illegal shutoff in many states: the guide on illegal lockouts and utility shutoffs explains what the law says and what to do today.

If this is you

You are an older adult

In New York, if you are 62 or older and the others at home meet certain conditions, the utility must try to work out a plan with you before cutting service.⁹

Someone at home depends on medical equipment

Ask the doctor to contact the utility before the shutoff date.⁴ In Arizona, the medical documentation is renewed every year.⁶

You live in a building and the owner does not pay the power bill

In New York you must be notified in writing, and you can pay the owner's current bill and deduct it from rent.³

It is very cold or very hot

In Texas, they cannot cut service in a county with an extreme weather emergency.⁴ Ask whether your state has a similar rule.

Costly mistakes

• Mistake: Waiting until the shutoff date to call.

  Instead: Call as soon as the notice arrives and ask for a payment plan.⁴

• Mistake: Not mentioning that someone at home is sick.

  Instead: Ask about the medical process and call the doctor before the shutoff date.⁹

• Mistake: Thinking the medical certificate erases the debt.

  Instead: You still owe the bills: use that time to make a plan.⁹

• Mistake: Not asking for crisis help because you think you will not qualify.

  Instead: Ask anyway: the law requires a fast response.¹⁰

• Mistake: Staying silent if they cut you off without following the rules.

  Instead: Complain to the utility and to your state's commission.⁵

What to do today

1. Read the date and the amount on the shutoff notice.⁸
2. Call the utility and ask for a payment plan; write down the name of the person you speak with.⁴
3. Call (866) 674-6327 or 211 to ask for LIHEAP crisis help.¹¹
4. If someone at home is sick or uses medical equipment, call their doctor today.⁴
5. If the utility does not follow the rules, complain to your state’s utility commission; in Florida, at 1(800) 342-3552.⁵
6. If it was your landlord, get free legal aid today.²