Massachusetts Gas and Electric Companies Can’t Shut Off Heat From Nov. 15 to March 15 for Households That Can’t Pay and Earn Up to $103,049 for a Family of Four

Massachusetts households behind on a gas or electric bill get a hard stop on heat shutoffs starting Nov. 15. From that date through March 15, state law bars gas and electric companies from cutting off service that heats a home when the household cannot pay because of financial hardship, and for this winter that hardship test covers a family of four earning up to $103,049 a year.

The protection is not automatic. A household has to tell its utility about the hardship and back it up with a form. But for those who do, the companies cannot send a termination notice or pull the plug on heat for the four coldest months of the year.

What the Law Says Starting Nov. 15

The rule comes from Chapter 164, Section 124F of the Massachusetts General Laws, which states that “No gas or electric company shall between November fifteenth and March fifteenth shut off gas or electric service” to a residential customer who has fallen behind because of financial hardship, when that service provides heat or runs the home’s heating system.

The Department of Public Utilities spells out the details in its billing regulations. Under 220 CMR 25.03, the winter protection applies when the customer cannot pay an overdue bill because of financial hardship, the service is used for heat, and the service had not already been shut off for nonpayment before Nov. 15. The regulation also says no termination notice may be issued between Nov. 15 and March 15 to a customer who has given notice of financial hardship, unless the department authorizes it.

That last condition matters for anyone already in trouble. A household that loses service before Nov. 15 is not covered by the winter rule in the same way, which makes the next nine days the window to get a hardship claim on file.

Who Counts as a Hardship Household This Winter

Massachusetts ties the hardship test to the income limit for its Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP or fuel assistance. That limit is 60% of the state median income. The state’s heating help page lists the FY27 limits as:

• $53,585 a year for a household of one
• $103,049 a year for a household of four

The household also has to be unable to pay an overdue bill. Income alone does not trigger the protection; a household that is under the limit but current on its bill has nothing to protect yet.

The same page estimates this season’s fuel assistance benefit for a one-person household at $870 to $1,450 for those who heat with delivered fuel such as oil or propane, and $600 to $1,000 for those who heat with a utility. Fuel assistance and the shutoff protection work together: the grant chips at the balance, and the moratorium keeps the heat on while it does. Households above the HEAP line who heat with oil may qualify for the state’s separate middle-income heating oil benefit of up to $680.

How to Get the Protection on File

According to the regulation, a hardship claim can start with a phone call to the utility. The customer then has seven days after receiving the company’s financial hardship form to return it. A signed statement showing income within the guidelines counts as presumptive evidence of hardship unless the department decides otherwise.

Massachusetts Legal Services notes that the company’s hardship form is usually required, and that bills keep piling up during the moratorium. Any unpaid balance can lead to a shutoff for nonpayment once the protection ends.

Hardship status is normally renewed every three months, but 220 CMR 25.03 waives that renewal between Nov. 15 and March 15 if the hardship is ongoing. One more detail helps households that got help last year: if the utility received fuel assistance payments for a customer the prior winter, the company must presume that customer meets the hardship guidelines and protect the account from Nov. 15 through Jan. 1, giving the household time to apply for this season’s assistance. If no application or other hardship certification is made by Jan. 1, the company may resume normal collection.

Extra Protections for Infants, Illness and Older Adults

The winter moratorium sits alongside other protections listed in the state’s shutoff protection flyer. For households with a financial hardship, the flyer says service cannot be shut off if anyone in the home is seriously ill or if a child under 12 months lives there. It also lists protection when all adults in the home are 65 or older.

Under the regulation, infant protection stays in effect without renewal until the child turns 12 months old, once a birth certificate or other qualifying document is filed within seven days. Serious illness protection needs a call from a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or local board of health official, followed by a certificate. Those certificates are renewed every three months, or every six months for a chronic illness.

The flyer also points to the department’s Consumer Division for complaints, at (617) 737-2836 or toll-free at (877) 886-5066.

How Massachusetts Compares

Neighboring states are adding heating help of their own this winter. New Hampshire households can get fuel assistance of up to $2,500, and Maine is paying up to $500 in emergency heating aid to HEAP-eligible households. In Massachusetts, the four-month shutoff protection is set in state law, so it returns every winter on the same dates, Nov. 15 through March 15.

For a household that is behind and under the income line, the practical step is simple: call the utility before Nov. 15, say the words “financial hardship,” and return the form within seven days.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: MarkBuckawicki – CC0/Wikimedia Commons