Minnesota Cold Weather Rule

Protections

Minnesota has set up a Cold Weather Rule that protects eligible residential customers from disconnection for late payments as long as payment arrangements have been made and kept with the electric utility. A gas or electric utility must not disconnect and must reconnect the utility service of a residential customer during the period between October 1 and April 30 if the disconnection affects the primary heat source and the customer meets the eligibility criteria.

Customer Eligibility

To be eligible for protection from residential utility service shutoff, a customer must meet the following criteria and requirements:

The household income of the customer is at or below 50 percent of the state median household income.

A customer is deemed to meet the income requirements if the customer receives any form of public assistance – including energy assistance – that uses an income eligibility threshold set at or below 50 percent of the state median household income. The utility may:

• obtain verification of income from the local energy assistance provider, if available; or
• require income information from the customer on forms provided by the utility and compare it to the current state median household income figure available on the website of the Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources; and
• work with the customer that enters into and makes reasonably timely payments under a payment agreement that considers the financial resources of the household.

Utility Duties

Between August 15 and October 1 each year, all utilities must notify all residential customers of the Cold Weather Rule protections.

All utilities must provide customers seeking protection with referrals to energy assistance, weatherization, conservation, or other programs likely to reduce the customer’s energy bills.

Customer Notification Before Disconnection

Before disconnecting service to a residential customer during the period between October 1 and April 30, a utility must provide the customer with all of the following items:

• A notice of the proposed disconnection. A statement explaining the customer’s rights and responsibilities;
• A list of local energy assistance providers;
• Forms on which to declare the inability to pay;
• A statement explaining available time payment plans and other opportunities to secure continued utility service; and
• At the same time that notice is given, the utility must also give written or electronic notice of proposed disconnection to the local energy assistance provider and the department.

Disconnection Restrictions

If a residential customer is to be involuntarily disconnected between October 1 and April 30, the disconnection may not occur:

• On a Friday, unless that day the customer declines to enter into a payment agreement offered by the municipal utility or co-op via personal contact or telephone,
• On a weekend, holiday, or day before a holiday,
• When utility offices are closed, unless a field representative of the utility who is authorized to enter into a payment agreement, accept payment, and continue service, offers a payment agreement to the customer.
• Disconnection must not occur until at least 20 days after the disconnection notice (described above) has been mailed to the customer or 15 days after the notice has been personally delivered to the customer.
• Under the Cold Weather Rule, if a customer appeals a notice of involuntary disconnection prior to disconnection, as provided by the utility’s established appeal procedure, the utility must not disconnect the customer until the appeal is resolved.

WINTER DISCONNECTS
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