Wisconsin program
Protection from utility shutoff (winter and medical rules)
Wisconsin has winter heating protections and temporary medical-emergency protections for regulated utilities.
What it is
Wisconsin has winter heating protections and temporary medical-emergency protections for regulated utilities.
From November 1 to April 15, a regulated electric or gas utility cannot cut off heat to an occupied home. Outside those dates, a doctor's statement can hold off a shutoff for up to 21 days. Neither cancels the bill.
Eligibility rules
- The Public Service Commission regulates investor-owned and municipally owned electric and gas utilities.
What you get
- Protection from loss of necessary heat November 1–April 15 when the winter rule applies.
- A medical-emergency hold of up to 21 days when its conditions are met.
If you decide to apply
- Ask your utility about winter protection, a payment plan and any medical hold for a child in treatment.
- Have the account number, bill and shutoff notice ready. Your care team can help describe medical risks.
Your utility customer-service office; PSC consumer assistance: 800-225-7729; energy assistance referral: 866-432-8947 · Official page ↗
Good to know
A medical hold may help outside the winter season as well. It postpones disconnection rather than erasing the bill, and the utility can ask for medical confirmation and a reasonable payment arrangement.
Other details
- WHEAP energy assistance is a separate route for help paying the bill. A payment plan addresses the balance that remains.
- For regulated electric, gas and water service, a qualifying medical or protective-services emergency can postpone disconnection or require reconnection for up to 21 days. A Wisconsin-licensed physician’s statement, or notice from a public-health, social-services or law-enforcement official, must identify the emergency and expected duration; renewal and payment-arrangement rules apply. Contact goes to the utility, with the Public Service Commission available for disputes at 800-225-7729. Cooperative utilities and delivered fuels need their own coverage and policy check. Winter protection concerns service necessary for heat, not every bill, and includes safety, tampering, vacant-premises and tightly conditioned higher-income exceptions.
Official sources
“If a utility shutoff is threatened, which protections and payment options fit, what are their limits, and could you help us request them?”
Why I’m asking: I need to understand how to protect heat at home without assuming the debt disappears.
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
Ring before the notice date and ask for the winter rule, a medical hold and a payment plan.
Your social worker
The oncology team can write a letter describing the child's need for heat and power.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The utility.
- Ask your social worker
- “Can someone write a letter saying our child is in cancer treatment at home, for the utility company?”
How to apply
First step: Ring the utility, say there is a child in cancer treatment at home, and ask about the winter rule, a medical hold and a payment plan.
- Ring the utility before a shut-off notice, not after.
- Ask what a doctor's note does at that utility and get the answer in writing.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ring the utility, say the household includes a child in cancer treatment, and ask both for the winter rule and for a medical hold and a payment plan.
What to gather
- The account number and any notice
- A letter from the oncology team
How long: The winter rule runs from November 1 to April 15 each year.
What a yes looks like
A payment plan and no disconnection date.
What a no looks like, and the next move
The utility says it is not regulated. Ask which body does regulate it and what its own hardship rule is.
Watch out
- It postpones the shut-off; it does not cancel what is owed.
- For regulated electric, gas and water service, a qualifying medical or protective-services emergency can postpone disconnection or require reconnection for up to 21 days. A Wisconsin-licensed physician’s statement, or notice from a public-health, social-services or law-enforcement official, must identify the emergency and expected duration; renewal and payment-arrangement rules apply. Contact goes to the utility, with the Public Service Commission available for disputes at 800-225-7729. Cooperative utilities and delivered fuels need their own coverage and policy check. Winter protection concerns service necessary for heat, not every bill, and includes safety, tampering, vacant-premises and tightly conditioned higher-income exceptions.
- Ring before the notice date, not after.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Winter rules generally protect occupied homes from loss of essential heat November 1–April 15; separate medical-emergency rules can protect regulated service year-round. Bills remain owed and exceptions apply.
Legal protection: Winter rules generally protect occupied homes from loss of essential heat November 1–April 15; separate medical-emergency rules can protect regulated service year-round. Bills remain owed and exceptions apply. · The Commission regulates investor-owned and municipally owned electric and gas utilities
What it costs the family: None; the debt still stands.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Utilities
- investor-owned and municipal electric and gas utilities regulated by the Commission
- Season
- November 1 to April 15
- Medical certificate
- For regulated electric, gas and water service, a qualifying medical or protective-services emergency can postpone disconnection or require reconnection for up to 21 days. A Wisconsin-licensed physician’s statement, or notice from a public-health, social-services or law-enforcement official, must identify the emergency and expected duration; renewal and payment-arrangement rules apply. Contact goes to the utility, with the Public Service Commission available for disputes at 800-225-7729. Cooperative utilities and delivered fuels need their own coverage and policy check. Winter protection concerns service necessary for heat, not every bill, and includes safety, tampering, vacant-premises and tightly conditioned higher-income exceptions.
The trap: The moratorium postpones a disconnection; it does not cancel the debt. Use the months to set up a payment plan and apply for energy help.
Where I read this
- PSC: Energy Topics — Wisconsin Public Service Commission, read September 10, 2026
- PSC: Regulation — Wisconsin Public Service Commission, read September 10, 2026
- PSC: Utility Payment Assistance — Wisconsin Public Service Commission, read September 10, 2026
- DOA: FY2026 LIHEAP Plan — Wisconsin Department of Administration, read September 10, 2026