Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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New Mexico program

A medical hold on an energy shutoff

Medical and financial forms can temporarily stop a covered utility from disconnecting gas or electricity.

What it is

Medical and financial forms can temporarily stop a covered utility from disconnecting gas or electricity.

A medical hold can protect service when disconnection would seriously endanger someone’s health. It requires both medical and financial certification. The hold gives time to address the bill.

Eligibility rules
  • A medical professional must certify that losing gas or electricity creates substantial risk of death or gravely impairs health.
  • Permitted signers are a licensed physician or physician assistant, osteopathic physician or osteopathic physician assistant, or certified nurse practitioner.
  • The rule covers electric, rural electric cooperative and gas utilities under the Public Regulation Commission’s jurisdiction. A financial certification must accompany the medical form.
What you get
  • No disconnection for nonpayment while the required valid certificates are on file.
  • No charge for this protection, although the utility debt remains.
What this includes
  • The ordinary medical certificate lasts 90 days. The extended medical certificate can last one year.
  • Separate winter protection runs November 15–March 15. It requires current-season energy-help eligibility and either no arrears or a maintained payment agreement.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the utility for both certification forms and the oncology team about the medical statement.
  2. Have the account details and financial information ready to submit with the signed medical form.

Your utility, under the Public Regulation Commission’s rule · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • The utility confirms receipt and protection from disconnection while the certificate remains valid.
  • An extended medical form requires a permanent condition or one unlikely to improve within 12 months. Financial certification still renews every 90 days. It concerns the account holder, so the child’s Medicaid card alone may not qualify. The utility and PRC can review a disputed refusal and payment arrangement.
  • The rule requires original qualifying forms at least two days before a scheduled disconnect. A completed qualifying certification requires reconnection within 12 hours. The separate winter-protection period is November 15 through March 15.
Good to know

Financial certification must be renewed every 90 days, even with a one-year medical certificate.

Other details
  • A certificate does not forgive the bill. Missing financial paperwork can leave the request incomplete.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Would losing energy service meet the medical-hold rule for our child? What are the benefits and drawbacks, and could you help with both forms if it fits?”

Why I’m asking: We want to understand how to protect service if an energy bill becomes difficult to pay.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Get both forms, get the medical one signed, send them together and diary the renewal.

Your social worker

The social worker can get the form signed at the next clinic visit.

The care team

A doctor, physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner signs the medical certificate.

Who decides
The utility accepts the certificate; the commission’s rule requires it.
Ask the care team
“Can you sign the utility medical certificate saying a shutoff would gravely harm my child, and can we use the extended one-year form?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the utility to send both forms today and get the medical one signed at the next clinic visit.

  1. Ask the utility to post or email both forms today.
  2. Ask the oncology team to sign the medical certificate, and ask for the extended one-year form.
  3. Diary the ninety-day financial renewal.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the oncology team to sign the medical certificate and send it with the financial certification to the utility.

What to gather

The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.

How long: Ninety days, or a year on the extended medical form.

What a yes looks like

The utility confirming no disconnection while the certificate is on file.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A utility saying the paperwork is incomplete. Check the financial certification went in with it.

Watch out

  • Two forms, not one: the medical certificate alone does nothing without the financial certification.
  • The financial form has to be renewed every ninety days even when the medical one runs a year.
  • The debt does not go away. This buys time.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

A signed medical and financial certificate stops a shutoff for ninety days, or a year with the extended form.

  • $90 — Days the ordinary medical certificate is valid
  • $90 — Days between financial recertifications, even on the extended form

Legal protection: No disconnection for non-payment while a signed medical and financial certificate is on file · Winter protection from November 15 to March 15 for a household qualifying for heating help · The rule covers electric, rural electric cooperative and gas utilities under the commission’s jurisdiction

What it costs the family: Free, but the bills still have to be paid.

The eligibility facts, as published

Clinical
a medical professional certifies that losing gas or electric service would give rise to a substantial risk of death or gravely impair health
Signers
a licensed physician or physician’s assistant, an osteopathic physician or osteopathic physician’s assistant, or a certified nurse practitioner
Financial
a financial certification form has to accompany it

The trap: Two signatures are needed, not one. The medical certificate alone does not stop anything; a financial certification has to go in with it, and it has to be renewed every ninety days even when the medical one runs a year.

Where I read this

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