Wisconsin Winter Utility Shutoff Rules

Q: When does Wisconsin's winter shutoff moratorium start and end?

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin sets the window from November 1 to April 15. Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, Wis. Admin. Code PSC 113.0304 (electric); parallel cold weather sections apply to natural gas under ch. PSC 113 is the rule it comes from, and PSC 113.0304 Cold weather disconnections, Wisconsin Administrative Code is the document it is printed in.

Q: Is there help with the heating bill in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin runs Home Energy Plus through Wisconsin Department of Administration, Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources, with applications opening Oct 1. The heating assistance page for Wisconsin covers the income test and the front door.

Calendar window

What the rule runs on

every residential account the rule covers, for as long as the window is open

Nov 1 to Apr 15

The winter window

November 1 through April 15

Co-ops too

Who the rule reaches

Municipal systems and co-ops too

Do nothing

The household must

it applies on its own inside the rule

The answer

What Wisconsin requires of a utility in winter

Calendar window

November 1 to April 15

From November 1 to April 15 a utility may cut off the primary heat source of an occupied home only as a last resort, and only where the household's gross quarterly income is above 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and health and safety would not be endangered, with the burden of proving that on the utility.

What switches it on: Public Service Commission of Wisconsin's rule runs from November 1 to April 15 and applies inside those dates on its own, without the household filing anything.
Utilities named: electric and natural gas
Who it reaches: Public Service Commission of Wisconsin's rule reaches municipal systems and cooperatives as well as the utilities it regulates.
What the household must do: Nothing. Inside the rule it applies on its own.

That is Public Service Commission of Wisconsin speaking through its own rule, and the sentence below is the one the summary above was built from. The citation is Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, Wis. Admin. Code PSC 113.0304 (electric); parallel cold weather sections apply to natural gas under ch. PSC 113.

This section applies to disconnections for nonpayment of utility service which provides the primary heat source or energy source affecting the primary heat source to residential dwelling units occurring during the period November 1 to April 15 in any year for all occupied residences.

PSC 113.0304 Cold weather disconnections, Wisconsin Administrative Code, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Already off, or a notice has come

Who to call in Wisconsin today

Before any cold weather disconnection the utility must meet in person with an adult in the household, tell it about deferred payment agreements and budget billing, and give it the after hours number; if the household is shut off anyway the utility must visit by the end of the next working day and restore service at once if it sees a danger to health or life.

Who takes the complaint: Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
By phone: 1-800-225-7729

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, how to file

By the end of the work day following the day of disconnection, the utility shall make an in-person visit to the occupied dwelling to check on the household's wellbeing and to ensure there is no danger to human health or life. The utility shall again inform the household of the availability of deferred payment or budget billing agreements, shelter assistance and in the case of a noncustomer occupant, the option of accepting responsibility for payment of future bills. If the utility or its representative observes a danger to human health or life due to the disconnection, the utility shall immediately restore service.

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

A commission’s consumer division is not a courtesy line. In most states a company must hold a disconnection while a formal complaint about that account is open, which is a different and stronger thing than asking the company to reconsider. Ring the utility first, then the commission if the answer is no.

The corner of a shingled house showing the mast and weatherhead where overhead lines land on the roof, and the round electric meter mounted on the wall below — The mast on the roof and the meter under it, on an ordinary house in Washington State. This is where an electric disconnection physically happens, and it is also why the rules are written by a public utility commission rather than a legislature in a good many states: the commission regulates the company that owns this wire. “Residence service drop”, Chetvorno, CC0

Who it covers

Does the Wisconsin rule cover your utility

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin's rule reaches municipal systems and cooperatives as well as the utilities it regulates.

Because Wisconsin writes the rule wider than the companies its commission regulates, a rural electric cooperative and a municipal light department are inside it too. Check the name on the bill anyway: the rule names classes of company rather than every company.

The rule names electric and natural gas service.

Help with the bill

Wisconsin pays part of the heating bill through Home Energy Plus

A shutoff rule and a heating grant are separate things, and in several states an approved grant application is itself what satisfies the filing the shutoff rule asks for. Wisconsin Department of Administration, Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources runs it, opening October 1 and closing May 15. The income test is .

Applications for energy assistance are accepted year-round. Applications submitted during the heating season October 1 through May 15 are for the one-time regular payment that covers a portion of your energy cost. Applications submitted outside the heating season will be considered for other assistance if funds are available.

Home Energy Plus Application, Wisconsin Department of Administration, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

The full Wisconsin page, with the season, the income test and how to apply, is at heating assistance in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin winter shutoff questions

Can a utility shut off heat in winter in Wisconsin?

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin's rule runs from November 1 to April 15 and applies inside those dates on its own, without the household filing anything. From November 1 to April 15 a utility may cut off the primary heat source of an occupied home only as a last resort, and only where the household's gross quarterly income is above 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and health and safety would not be endangered, with the burden of proving that on the utility.

When does Wisconsin's winter shutoff moratorium start and end?

Does the rule cover rural co-ops and city utilities in Wisconsin?

What can a household in Wisconsin already shut off do?

Before any cold weather disconnection the utility must meet in person with an adult in the household, tell it about deferred payment agreements and budget billing, and give it the after hours number; if the household is shut off anyway the utility must visit by the end of the next working day and restore service at once if it sees a danger to health or life. Public Service Commission of Wisconsin publishes the path.

Who handles a winter disconnection dispute in Wisconsin?

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin takes consumer complaints about regulated utilities, on 1-800-225-7729. Its own words: "The PSC can help you resolve disputes with utilities regarding electric, natural gas, water service, and very limited aspects of local telephone service. You must first try to resolve your dispute directly with the utility before contacting the PSC for assistance. If you are unsuccessful in resolving your concern directly with the utility, you may contact the PSC."

Is there help with the heating bill in Wisconsin?

A residential natural gas meter with its regulator and shutoff valve, mounted against pale house siding — A gas meter, which is the other half of the question and frequently the other half of the answer. A state rule can reach a regulated gas company and not reach the electric cooperative next door, or the reverse, so the protection you have often depends on which company sends which bill. “Gas meter”, RadRafe, Public domain

Winter shutoff rules in other states

Wisconsin heating assistanceWisconsin's energy assistance program, its season and its income test.Heating assistance by stateWhen each state opens applications, the income test, and where to apply.Heating oil and propane pricesWhat the fuel costs this week in the states that report it.Frozen pipe riskThe forecast that puts pipes at risk, by ZIP.Winter shutoff rules in every stateHow the fifty states differ on whether a window, a forecast or a filing decides it.

Wisconsin read September 23, 2026 from PSC 113.0304 Cold weather disconnections, Wisconsin Administrative Code, linked above. A commission can order a company to do something its published rule does not require, and rules change between seasons, so the agency page is the one that governs. Every state is on the winter shutoff hub.