New Hampshire’s winter shutoff rules run from November 15 through March 31, and during those months an electric utility is sharply restricted in when it can cut off a home. If a utility knows a residential customer is 65 or older, it has to ask the state Public Utilities Commission for approval before disconnecting that customer. Most of the protection turns on how much a household owes and whether it is enrolled in an assistance program.
Which customers the winter rules reach
The rules are Puc 1204 in the commission’s administrative code. According to the commission’s winter disconnection page, they apply to public utilities that provide gas, electric and steam service in New Hampshire, and only to residential customers.
The commission’s page gives firm dates only for electric service. It says that from November 15 to March 31, an electric utility may not disconnect a customer’s service in the situations the rules list. For gas and steam, the same chapter refers to a “winter period” without spelling out the calendar.
How much a customer has to owe before a shutoff notice
The dollar thresholds are in Puc 1204.03. Under the rule text posted on Justia’s copy of the code, a utility cannot send a disconnection notice for a primary residence until the unpaid balance tops $450 for customers who heat with electricity, gas or steam. The figure is $225 for electric customers who do not heat with electricity and $125 for gas customers who do not heat with gas.
A balance carried in from before winter does not make a customer eligible for a winter shutoff unless it exceeds those amounts, alone or added to winter arrears.
Customers who cannot pay the full balance have a set way to stay connected. A household in financial hardship pays 10 percent of the monthly total balance due for the winter period, or 10 percent of the total balance plus projected future monthly bills. Customers without a hardship finding promise to pay each current bill by its due date, and the old balance is spread in equal installments over the winter and the six months after it ends.
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Hardship status is not a judgment call by the utility. A customer qualifies by showing current enrollment in a program such as the federal heating aid program known as LIHEAP, the state’s Electric Assistance Program or Lifeline phone service. Other government or government-funded programs that assess low-income households in writing also count. Hardship customers have to show evidence of enrollment every year.
Deposits are handled separately. The rules say a residential customer cannot be disconnected during the winter period for not paying a deposit, or part of one.
What changes for customers 65 and older
The age rule is Puc 1204.03(b). It says that during the winter period, utilities “shall seek commission approval before disconnecting the service of residential customers known to be 65 years or older.” The wording is “known to be,” so the requirement attaches to customers whose age the utility has on file.
It is an approval step, not a ban. The commission reviews each request, and a utility can still ask. The commission’s own rule says it will not approve a disconnection when the customer has a financial hardship and has made a good-faith effort to pay.
The same approval route opens if a utility cannot reach an adult in the home. Before cutting service in that case, the utility has to go to the commission and report the customer’s age, any children under 5, any household members over 65, the amount owed and the last three payments. It must also report any medical emergency certification and any known financial hardship.
Notice, and what happens to homes already shut off
Winter shutoffs come with a contact requirement beyond the usual written notice. The utility has to tell an adult in the home in person or by phone, at least 2 business days and no more than 8 business days before the planned disconnection.
The rules also reach households that lost service before winter. Anyone disconnected for nonpayment between April 15 and October 15 whose account is still inactive on November 1 is owed a first-class letter by November 7. Utilities must also run at least two newspaper ads in October explaining how reconnection works for hardship and medical emergency customers.
A household in hardship can get service restored with a payment arrangement where 10 percent of the outstanding balance is enough. A household reporting a medical emergency gets service restored after a qualifying certification and a payment arrangement. Utilities report on all of this to the commission each year by December 10.
What the rules do not do
None of this erases a bill. After winter ends, customers who still owe get a plan to repay the balance in equal installments over six months, on top of their current bills. A utility may also keep an existing payment plan in place instead of rewriting it, unless the customer asks for a change.
The commission’s page tells customers to contact their local utility first, and says budget billing, balanced billing and payment arrangements are available. The commission’s main line is (603) 271-2431, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For older customers, that call matters most before a notice arrives, because the 65-and-older step depends on what the utility knows about the account holder.
Behind on the electric bill before November 15?
The winter rules slow a shutoff. They do not pay the balance, and a household that owes more than $450 on an electric-heat account still has a bill due, with the remainder repaid across the winter and six months after.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit covers heating, cooling and home-repair help for older homeowners, along with an application log and renewal calendar. Part 5 is built around utilities and home costs.
Its 64 pages are written for people who carry a house on a fixed income and need to know which programs can take weight off a power bill.
Get the heating-help and application-log kit for older homeowners →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
