PUCO issues winter order capping electric reconnection costs

The order helps residents reconnect or maintain electric and natural gas service between Oct. 14, 2024, and April 18, 2025.

Under the order, customers must pay a utility no more than $175 plus any applicable reconnection charge which cannot exceed $36. According to the order, $175 is the maximum to maintain or reconnect service even if a customer owes more.

If the utility’s reconnect charge is greater than $36, the balance above $36 may be charged to the customer on the customer’s next monthly bill.

“The PUCO’s special reconnect order helps those struggling stay connected to vital heating sources throughout the winter,” PUCO Chair Jenifer French said in a statement.

The order also applies to customers seeking to establish new electric or natural gas service from any PUCO-regulated utilities.

Rather than paying the full security deposit that may be required for new service, customers can pay up to $175 and the balance above $175 may be charged on the customer’s next monthly bill.

There is no income eligibility requirement to use the order; however, customers who are at or below 175% of the federal poverty guidelines may apply for assistance through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) winter crisis program to pay the $175 amount.

Contact your electric or natural gas utility between Oct. 14, 2024, through April 18, 2025 to find out how to apply the order to your bill. “Utility representatives will explain the order and set up a payment plan to address any remaining balance on your account after the $175 has been applied,” the PUCO said in a statement.

A list of PUCO-regulated utilities is available on the PUCO website.

More information about energy assistance programs is available on the PUCO’s website here.

Customers who have questions about PUCO’s order may contact the PUCO at (800) 686-PUCO (7826) or visit PUCO’s website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.

The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel welcomed the order but said more could be done.

“We are pleased that the PUCO’s order addresses consumers’ critical needs to stay connected to their utility service during cold weather,” said Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Maureen Willis. “But more can and should be done for consumers, including extending disconnection protections into the sweltering heat of Ohio’s summer months. We expect to raise these and other consumer protections in response to the PUCO’s order.”

The office has urged the PUCO to extend the order to cover summer months, suspend disconnections during severe weather alerts and requiring utilities to notify energy assistance providers of planned disconnections.

The office also noted that customers who owe more than $175 will need to make payment arrangements with the utility company for the remaining past-due amount.