Pennsylvania Utilities Can’t Cut Off Gas or Electric Service From Dec. 1 to March 31 for Households at or Below 250% of the Poverty Line

For a family of four, 250% of the federal poverty level works out to $82,500 a year, or $6,875 a month. Pennsylvania households at or below that line cannot have regulated gas or electric service cut off from Dec. 1 through March 31, according to the Altoona Mirror’s report on the state’s winter assistance rules. The protection does not erase what is owed, so the bills keep building behind it.

What 250% of the Poverty Line Means in Dollars for Each Household Size

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission lists the income ceilings month by month on its customer protections sheet. At 250% of poverty, the monthly limits are $3,325 for one person, $4,508 for two, $5,692 for three and $6,875 for four. Each additional person adds $1,183 a month.

Those monthly figures line up with the federal numbers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sets the 2026 poverty guidelines at $15,960 for one person, $21,640 for two, $27,320 for three and $33,000 for four in the 48 contiguous states. Multiplying by 2.5 gives annual ceilings of $39,900, $54,100, $68,300 and $82,500. Each added person raises the poverty line by $5,680, which is $14,200 at 250%.

The annual multiplication is simple arithmetic on the HHS numbers. The PUC sheet is dated February 2026 and uses the 2026 guidelines, which are updated every January.

For a household of four, the gap between the 150% threshold used for the state’s LIHEAP heating grants and the 250% shutoff line is wide. The Department of Human Services lists the LIHEAP limit for a family of four at $49,500 in gross annual income, according to its announcement of the 2026-27 season. A family earning $60,000 would be above the grant limit but still inside the shutoff protection.

Which Utilities and Services the Dec. 1 to March 31 Protection Covers

The winter moratorium covers regulated electric and gas utilities, according to the Altoona Mirror. PUC-regulated water utilities are also barred from cutting off water to households that use it to heat their homes. The Department of Human Services makes the same statement in its LIHEAP announcement.

The PUC sheet describes the protection as one that “protects consumers from utility termination between December 1 and March 31.” During winter, the sheet says, service is restored within 24 hours after the customer pays and meets the utility’s conditions. If street or sidewalk digging is needed, restoration can take up to seven days.

The moratorium is not a blanket ban. The PUC sheet says service can be terminated without commission approval if a customer is not a responsible customer or if household income falls outside the utility’s qualifying guidelines.

The window runs about four months, from Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026, to Wednesday, March 31, 2027. Households that are protected during those months still owe the usage, and the protection ends when the window closes.

Unpaid Heating Bills Stay on the Account

The moratorium “does not cancel a customer’s outstanding home heating bills,” according to the Altoona Mirror’s summary of the state’s guidance. Anything unpaid in December is still owed in April.

The PUC says households must still meet certain conditions to stay protected. The sheet lists paying the bill and following any payment arrangement, making any required deposit, allowing access to utility equipment and telling the utility about any loss of income or work hours so the household can be checked for assistance programs. A deposit can be required after bad or no credit history, a past termination for unpaid bills, or two consecutive missed payments or three within 12 months, and the sheet says it could average two monthly bills.

A separate protection applies when a licensed provider certifies that a household member is seriously ill. The PUC sheet says service will not be disconnected in that case, the initial certification lasts up to 30 days and extensions are possible. The bill must still be paid during the period.

By law, consumers must contact their utility first to resolve a billing problem, the PUC says in a press release on the end of the moratorium. The same release advises households to ask their utility about customer assistance programs and new payment plans for past-due balances, and to dial 211 for local resources. A household that cannot settle the matter can then call the PUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services at 1-800-692-7380.

LIHEAP Cash Grants of $200 to $1,000 Stay Open Through April 23

The moratorium holds off a shutoff but does nothing about the size of the bill, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is the state’s main source of help with it. The 2026-27 season opened this fall, with applications accepted through April 23, 2027, according to the Department of Human Services. A cash grant is $200 at minimum and $1,000 at maximum, and a household may receive one per season. Crisis grants range from $25 to $1,000 per season.

The site has covered the details of the cash grants and crisis grants for broken furnaces and shutoff threats.

Last season, 278,910 households received cash benefits averaging $289, and about 121,329 households received crisis benefits averaging $566, the Department of Human Services reported.

State Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh said that households should apply for LIHEAP as soon as possible. PUC Chairman Steve DeFrank urged anyone struggling to apply early. Applications are filed online through COMPASS, or through the LIHEAP Helpline at 1-866-857-7095 for a paper form, and applicants do not need to know their eligibility beforehand.

Get stories like this by email. Sign up for The Parent Diaries Letter.

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

Image: w_lemay – CC BY-SA 2.0/Wikimedia Commons