Maine’s winter shutoff protection for electric customers begins November 15, 2026, and runs to April 15, 2027. Under state law, a utility cannot cut off a home in that window without advance permission from the state, and a utility that breaks the rule owes the customer up to $2,500. The protection covers residential electric accounts.
What the winter rule says
The rule is Title 35-A, section 718 of the Maine statutes, titled winter terminations. It defines a disconnection prohibition period as November 15 to April 15, plus any other period the Public Utilities Commission sets under section 704 of the same title.
During that period, a transmission and distribution utility may not send any oral, paper or electronic notice that sets a disconnection date or time window, unless the commission’s consumer assistance and safety division has given prior permission. A phone call counts the same as a letter or an email.
A notice that merely mentions disconnection or involuntary termination is allowed only if it carries three statements prominently. It must say that disconnection cannot happen during the period without the division’s advance permission, that the customer will be told of any permission request, and that the customer may be heard by the division.
The restrictions fall on the utility, not the customer. Nothing in the statute asks a household to apply or register for the winter protection, which applies to residential accounts automatically once the window opens.
Residential customer means any account receiving electric service for residential purposes. An account that also uses some of the electricity for business still counts as residential.
For a household with a past-due bill, the practical question is whether the notice in hand follows these rules: no shutoff date inside the window, or a date the division has approved, and the required statements on any notice that mentions disconnection.
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What the $2,500 is and who collects it
The law sets a civil penalty of up to $2,500 for a utility that violates the section. The money is payable to the customer who received the prohibited communication, not to the state. It is recoverable in a civil action and comes in addition to any other remedies the customer has.
The $2,500 is a ceiling, not a flat payment, and the statute sets no minimum. It is also a penalty, not a refund of the bill. A customer who wins keeps owing what the utility charged for power.
The violation the law describes is the communication itself. A utility that sends a prohibited notice has already broken the rule, whether or not the power is ever cut. That means a household does not have to lose service to have a claim.
Take a letter dated December 3 that sets a shutoff for December 20. Unless the division gave permission first, the letter itself falls under the ban. The same goes for a recorded phone message or a text that names a cutoff date inside the window, because the law covers oral and electronic notices as well as paper.
How a notice connects to emergency help
The statute also ties notices to aid. A notice permitted under the rule counts as a disconnection notice for eligibility in emergency assistance programs, including emergency general assistance and fuel assistance, which the law cites to Title 22, chapter 1161 and Title 30-A, chapter 201, subchapter 13.
In plain terms, a household that receives a proper notice can use it to show a utility is moving toward shutoff when applying for those programs. That is why the content of the notice matters beyond the penalty.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission’s electric bill help page says customers having trouble paying should contact the utility, which can set up a payment arrangement and point to assistance resources. For financial help it tells customers to contact their local community action agency, and it links to the Efficiency Maine Insulation Program and winter heating tips.
The commission’s Consumer Assistance Division takes calls at 800-452-4699, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern. Outside those hours, a message can be sent through the contact page on the commission’s website.
Not a new law, but a new season
Section 718 is not new. It was enacted as Public Law 2021, chapter 347, and the statute lists no later amendments. What changes on November 15, 2026, is that this heating season’s protection takes effect, 26 days after this article was published.
The window lasts about five months, until April 15, 2027. The commission can also set other protected periods under section 704, so the dates in the statute are the minimum window, not the only one possible.
The open question for a Maine household with a past-due electric bill is whether any shutoff date it has been given falls inside the window, and if so, whether the division approved it before the notice went out.
Facing a shutoff notice this winter?
A shutoff notice that sets a date inside the winter window without the commission’s permission is the kind the law forbids, but a past-due bill does not go away because a notice was improper. A household that cannot tell which kind of notice arrived risks both the power and the emergency help the notice can unlock.
The statute answers who may cut power; The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit answers who helps pay the bill. It covers heating, cooling and home-repair help for older homeowners, and its application log and renewal calendar keep each program’s dates in one place. Part 5, Utilities and Home Costs, is the section on power bills.
Get the heating-help guide and application log →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
