| COMMUNITY BENEFIT | Affordability, Safety, Public health, Resilience |
| KEYWORDS | Shutoffs, Utility bills, Disaster preparedness |
| REGION | State |
| AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY | Household Protections |
| OVERSIGHT | Utility Commission |
| POLICY MECHANISM | Legislation, Regulation, Executive |
Why This Matters
In 2024, 3.8 million U.S. households were estimated to have experienced a utility shutoff (also referred to as a disconnection) due to non-payment of utility bills. Nearly 24% of all households were not able to pay at least one monthly energy bill, and total utility bill arrearages rose to $17.4 billion. About a third of these households subject to potential shutoffs for non-payment were households with children.1 The trendlines for shutoffs, utility bill non-payment rates, and arrearages are all rising, the result of increasing energy prices, heightened energy demand for heating and cooling associated with climate change, and federal cuts to energy assistance programs.2 In addition to posing considerable risks to health and safety—particularly for children, older adults, and medically vulnerable people—lack of access to electricity hinders education and employment opportunities and access to many social and health services.
Policy Solution
Bans on utility shutoffs during extreme weather and for vulnerable populations protect household health and safety, particularly for low- and moderate-income households, older adults, children, and medically-vulnerable individuals.3
Model Policy Features
- A combination of date-, temperature-, and weather-based conditions during which utility shutoffs are prohibited, reflecting both extreme heat, humidity, and cold conditions.4
- Prohibition of shutoffs for households with a vulnerable resident, such as someone who has received physician certification stating they are dependent on electricity for medical reasons, including to power medical equipment or maintain a safe temperature; an elderly resident; or infants and young children.
- May include protections for low-income households (e.g. earning less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level) who have experienced a recent hardship, such as loss of a job, weather or environmental disaster, or a death in the family.
- Reduced barriers to enrollment in shutoff protections, such as language access, categorical eligibility (whereby participation in other government assistance programs qualifies a household for eligibility in offered programs), simplified application processes with ample time to meet documentation requirements (e.g., 15 working days), no more than annual medical eligibility recertification, and robust outreach about available protections.
- At least 15 days initial notice prior to disconnection, followed by at least a second notice and personal contact.5
- Payment plans, such as arrearage management programs, to assist households behind on their bills to make payment and/or receive timely debt relief in order to prevent shutoffs.
- Disconnection arrearage minimums.6
- Waiving of disconnection and/or reconnection fees.7
- Protections for renters in the event of a landlord’s failure to pay utility bills included in the lease.8
- Regulatory oversight of utilities to ensure compliance.
- Provisions for regular data reporting, including spatial reporting and analysis of disconnection data, and public transparency (e.g., public-facing data dashboards).
Potential Limitations & Pitfalls
- Shutoff bans are frequently based upon extreme weather and temperature predictions from the National Weather Service (NWS) which are not always reliable and may be even less reliable than they once were. Since January 2025, about 600 staff,9 who reportedly comprise about 10% of the NWS workforce,10 have been fired from or left the National Weather Service, which may jeopardize the intent of these laws to protect state residents. These protections also do not reflect local variations, such as heat islands or poorly insulated homes, which may increase the exposure of certain households to extreme weather.
Complementary Policies
Complementary policies that increase the ability of low- and moderate-income households to afford and pay their utility bills and protect them from shutoffs include:
- Arrearage management programs and debt forgiveness and percentage of income payment plans to facilitate the payment of utility bills.
- Utility bill assistance, bill credits, and low-income rates to reduce utility costs for low- and moderate-income households.
- Performance incentive mechanisms to incentivize utilities to reduce the number of disconnections each year.
Additional Information
As of September 2025, most states (42) had policies to prevent shutoffs during cold weather. Only 19 states, however, had heat-related shutoff protections, and two states had protections during periods of extreme weather.11
Examples
1. Rhode Island Shutoff Protections– §810-RICR-10-00-1: Rules and Regulations Governing the Termination of Residential Electric, Gas and Water Utility Service
Details:
- Bans disconnections from November 1 through April 15 of each year.
- Includes protections for “seriously ill” customers; certification by a physician may be made via telephone.
- Includes delinquent balance minimums for disconnection.
- Offers protection to “Protected Status Customers,” including unemployed, disabled, and seriously ill individuals, families demonstrating financial hardship with children under the age of 2, older adults ages 62 and older, and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) recipients.
- Final disconnection notices are required to be issued in several languages.
- Disconnections banned prior to and on weekends and holidays and outside of utility business hours.
- Payment plans must be offered by electric and gas utilities.
- Includes a ban on disconnections when a heat advisory or excessive heat warning has been issued by the National Weather Service.
LIMITATIONS:
- Physician certification for “seriously ill” customers must be made within seven days of a request for written certification from a utility.
- Disconnection protection in such cases requires payment, enrollment in a payment plan, or an administrative review.
- Documentation requirements for disconnection protection could be onerous for vulnerable individuals (e.g., utilities can request a review of a physician certification).
- Protections for households with children under the age of 2 only extend to those without previous disconnection history.
- Only 10 days notice required for disconnections.
2. Minnesota Cold Weather and Extreme Heat Rules and Residential Customer Protections – 2168.096 Cold Weather Rule, Public Utility. 2168.097 Cold Weather Rule; Cooperative or Municipal Utility. 216B.0975 Disconnection During Extreme Heat Conditions. 216B.098 Residential Customer Protections
Details:
- Institutes a utility shutoff ban for low-income customers from October 1 through April 30 each year.
- Utilities are required to notify customers of their rights to cold weather protection.
- Requires notice of at least seven working days.
- Disconnections generally banned prior to and on weekends and holidays and outside of utility business hours.
- Includes utility data reporting requirements.
- Utilities are required to offer payment plans to customers facing difficulty in bill payment.
- Bans disconnections when a heat advisory, excessive heat watch, or excessive heat warning has been issued by the National Weather Service.
- Offers protections to individuals reliant upon electricity-dependent medical equipment.
LIMITATIONS:
- Requires customers to arrange a payment plan to avoid disconnection during the winter shutoff period. If payments are not subsequently made, services can be shut off and the utility is not required to arrange a new payment plan until the next Cold Weather Rule period.
- Payment agreements expire at the end of the Cold Weather Rule period unless agreed to by the utility.
- None of the regulations require that utility customer education and outreach efforts be offered in multiple languages.
- Customers dependent upon medical equipment requiring electricity must receive certification within five business days to avoid shutoffs; certification is effective for only six months at a time, up to 12 months.
- Documentation requirements for disconnection protection could be onerous for vulnerable individuals.
Resources
- For an analysis of utility shutoff policies, practices, and proposed reforms from the perspective of energy as a human right, see:
- Franklin, M. and Kurtz, C. (2017). Lights Out in the Cold. Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP.
- For a compilation of state disconnection policies, see:
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP Clearinghouse. Disconnect Policies. Last updated: September 2025.
- For data related to residential energy affordability challenges across the country, including difficulty paying utility bills and resulting arrearages and shutoffs, see:
- National Energy Assistance Directors Association. (2024). Energy Hardship Report.
- For an analysis of disconnection data, racial disparities, and reform options, see:
- Castillo, M., Rosenbach, C., Ebinger, K., and Daniel, J. (2025). Disconnections Handbook. RMI.
- For data tracking utility disconnections, including both the number and rate of shutoffs statewide and by utility, see:
- Indiana University, Energy Justice Lab. Utility Disconnections Dashboard 2.0. Accessed: November 24, 2025.
Written: October 2025
- National Energy Assistance Directors Association. (2024). Energy Hardship Report. ↩︎
- Hand, E. F., Shaffer, D. S., Willard, L. J., Hawkes III, C., Kennedy, R. E., & Sholk, D. (2025). Utility Disconnections and Shutoffs. Energy LJ, 46, 299. ↩︎
- Castillo, M., Rosenbach, C., Ebinger, K., and Daniel, J.. (2025). Disconnections Handbook. RMI. ↩︎
- Franklin, M. and Kurtz, C. (2017) Lights Out in the Cold. Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP. ↩︎
- Franklin, M. and Kurtz, C. (2017) Lights Out in the Cold. Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP. ↩︎
- Franklin, M. and Kurtz, C. (2017) Lights Out in the Cold. Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP. ↩︎
- Franklin, M. and Kurtz, C. (2017) Lights Out in the Cold. Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP.
↩︎ - Franklin, M. and Kurtz, C. (2017) Lights Out in the Cold. Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP. ↩︎
- Feltman, R., Thompson, A., and Mwang, F. (2025). Summer Brings Hurricanes, Tornadoes and Extreme Heat—And an Underresourced National Weather Service. Scientific American. ↩︎
- Baker, C. (2025). Former Weather Service Leaders Warn Staffing Cuts Could Lead to ‘Loss of Life’. New York Times. ↩︎
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP Clearinghouse. Disconnect Policies. Last updated: September 2025. ↩︎