New York’s cold-weather rules require utilities to take extra steps before cutting heat-related service from November 1 through April 15. Customers 62 and older are in a protected contact group when everyone else in the home is also 62 or older, 18 or younger, blind or disabled. The state Department of Public Service lays out the rules in its HEFPA brochure. They slow a shutoff; they do not ban one.
What the November 1 to April 15 period changes
From November 1 to April 15, providers must make a special effort to find out whether ending heat-related service would seriously harm a customer’s health or safety, the Department of Public Service brochure says. HEFPA stands for the Home Energy Fair Practices Act, the state law behind the protections.
The special-contact group is defined by household makeup. A customer who is blind, disabled or 62 or older qualifies if every other person in the home is 62 or older, 18 or younger, blind or disabled. For those households the utility must make extra attempts to reach the customer before and after a shutoff.
A 70-year-old who lives with an adult child in good health, for example, would not meet that test. The brochure tells customers who do qualify to notify the utility, so that service is not cut off by mistake. Anyone unsure which side of the line the household falls on should ask the utility directly.
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The rule is about contact, not prohibition. The brochure describes added attempts to reach the customer and a duty to look for health and safety risks. It does not say a utility may never disconnect a household with someone 62 or older during cold weather.
Notice, late fees and deposits
Before disconnecting for an overdue bill, a provider must send a written final notice saying it plans to shut off service. It must then wait 15 days. That clock runs separately from the extra contact attempts owed to the 62-and-older group.
Late payment charges are capped at 1.5% a month, or 18% a year, according to the Department of Public Service. On a past-due balance, that cap limits how fast a missed payment grows while a household sorts out a payment plan.
Utilities may require deposits from existing customers who are behind on payments. The department says customers may pay those deposits in up to 12 monthly installments rather than all at once.
Shutoffs are allowed only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and not on certain holidays or during the Christmas to New Year’s period. A disconnection cannot be scheduled for a Friday, a weekend or an evening.
Medical certificates and the numbers to call
A doctor or a local board of health can certify a serious illness that a shutoff would worsen, and that certification can block termination. Certificates for conditions lasting more than 30 days must be renewed. For life-support equipment, the customer must show an inability to pay every three months.
The complaint process starts with the utility, which is required to help. If the problem is not resolved, the customer can file with the Department of Public Service. Anyone holding a final notice that threatens a shutoff within 48 or 72 hours should skip the online form and call the emergency hotline at 800-342-3355, weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
General complaints go to the helpline at 800-342-3377, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. While the department investigates, the customer must keep paying the undisputed part of the bill, or the utility may terminate service. A decision can be challenged within 15 days by asking for an informal hearing or review. A hearing officer then issues a written decision, which can be appealed within another 15 days. The Public Service Commission decides most appeals.
Where heating aid fits alongside the shutoff rules
The Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP, is run by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Its program page sends households to their HEAP local district contact or the state hotline at 1-800-342-3009 for current-season dates and benefits.
Eligibility depends on income or on receiving SNAP, Temporary Assistance or SSI, plus the household’s main heating source and whether it includes a child under 6, an adult 60 or older, or a permanently disabled person. Safeguards delay a shutoff; HEAP is the program that pays toward the bill. Questions about the shutoff rules themselves can go to the Department of Public Service at dps.ny.gov/ask-psc or by email to web.questions@dps.ny.gov.
For an older New Yorker, the cold-weather period gives until April 15 for the utility to work harder to find out whether a shutoff would be dangerous. It does not pay the bill, and the 15-day notice still counts down. The open question is whether help is lined up before a final notice arrives.
Is help lined up before a final shutoff notice arrives?
The extra contact attempts do not stop the 15-day notice clock, and a missed bill keeps growing at up to 1.5% a month. A household that waits for the notice to look for heating aid has about two weeks to find it.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit covers heating, cooling and home-repair help, and its application log and renewal calendar tracks each program’s dates. Part 5, Utilities and Home Costs, covers the bill side of keeping heat on at home.
Line up winter heating help with the Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
