Winter Moratorium on
Heat Shut-Offs Extended

 

A simplified version of the following was e-mailed to staff on 3/14/11.

Last month, the National Consumer Law Center asked the MA Dept of Public Utilities (DPU) to extend the winter moratorium (protection from shut-offs for heat-related utilities) from its scheduled end date of March 15 to April 4, 2011.  The DPU agreed and sent letters to the utilities asking for voluntary compliance.  In past years all of the companies have voluntarily complied. 

In practice, this means that customers who are protected by the moratorium would not actually have their heat shut off before late April/early May due to the notice requirements for terminating service.  With the end of the moratorium, utility companies may send out the "2nd notice/27 day notice" on either April 4th or 5th. They could then send the final notice of termination on April 23, if the 2nd notice is sent April 5 (given that April 23 is a Saturday, those notices may not be mailed until April 25).  The DPU rules assume that a notice takes 3 days to arrive by mail, so the companies have to assume the notice isn't received until April 28.  Companies can't actually shut off until 3 days after notice is received, which would be May 1, but that's a Sunday, so May 2 is likely the earliest date a protected low-income customer could actually be shut off.

For more information see our website Utilities -- Shut-Off Protections or contact any Community Resource Center staff person.

If you learn of any utility company not voluntarily complying with the extension, the NCLC requests you contact them.  I can give you the contact info.

-Adapted from “Winter Moratorium; clarification”, e-mail, posted to utilitynetwork@lists.nclc.org On Behalf Of Charlie Harak, March 14, 2011.

 

3/11