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Winter heat shutoff protection runs Nov. 15 to March 15: who qualifies on the South Coast and how to claim it

The rule covers households that meet the fuel assistance income limits, but only if the heat is still on Nov. 15 and the customer tells the company.

By the SC360 Community Desk | Published Oct. 29, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 29, 2026, 1:29 a.m. ET

SOUTH COAST From Nov. 15 to March 15, the gas and electric companies serving South Coast homes cannot shut off service that heats a home when the customer cannot pay an overdue bill because of financial hardship, under state law. The protection applies only if the service is still on Nov. 15 and the household tells the company it qualifies.

The protection comes from chapter 164, section 124F of the General Laws and the Department of Public Utilities' billing and termination rules. Those rules apply to every gas and electric company the department regulates and to municipal light plants such as the one in Taunton. The winter protection covers residential accounts whose gas or electricity fuels a heating system or runs it.

Who qualifies

Financial hardship has a set meaning in the department's rules: the customer cannot pay an overdue bill and meets the income limits for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, better known as fuel assistance. The director of the department's Consumer Division can also find hardship in other cases. This season's limits are $53,585 a year for one person, $70,073 for two, $86,561 for three and $103,049 for four, according to PACE and Citizens for Citizens, the agencies that run fuel assistance in most South Coast towns.

How to claim it

A customer can first claim the protection by phone. The company then sends a financial hardship form, which has to be filled out and returned within seven days of receipt. A signed statement that the household's income falls within the guidelines counts as presumptive evidence of hardship unless the department decides otherwise. Companies must provide the forms and instructions on or before Nov. 15.

Households whose utility received fuel assistance payments on their behalf last winter start out protected. The company has to presume they still qualify and protect the account from Nov. 15 through Jan. 1, which gives them time to apply again. If no fuel assistance application or other proof of hardship is in by Jan. 1, the company may resume normal collection. The hardship form is renewed every three months, but that renewal is waived for the winter when the hardship is shown to last from Nov. 15 to March 15.

Before any shutoff

A utility worker sent to shut off service has to tell someone at home first and hand over a notice of the protections and a hardship form. If the person claims protection, the shutoff is put off 72 hours so the household can send in proof. From Nov. 15 to March 15, the company must also call or visit a heating customer no earlier than three days before a shutoff, and unless the department allows it, the company may not send a notice threatening a shutoff to a customer who has filed a hardship notice.

A customer who disputes a company's decision can call or write the department within seven days of receiving the notice, and the company cannot shut off service while the dispute is pending. Every notice has to give the department's address and phone numbers. A willful violation, found after a hearing, carries a $100 penalty for each one.

Protections that last all year

Other protections apply in any month. A company cannot shut off gas or electric service in a home where someone is seriously ill, certified in writing by a doctor, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or the local board of health, when the customer cannot afford the overdue bill because of financial hardship. The same holds for a home where a baby under 12 months old lives. A household in which every resident is 65 or older cannot be shut off until the company has followed the department's collection rules.

Renters who get gas, electricity or heat as part of the rent, but are not the utility's customer, have to be notified before the account is shut off, 15 to 30 days ahead as the department sets. They can pay the amount due to keep service on and recover it from the person they pay rent to.

Where to call

Liberty, the gas company for Fall River, Somerset, Swansea and Westport, lists its financial hardship, age 65 and older, and doctor certification forms under its Special Protections program, and customers can also apply through its contact center. Liberty's customer care number is 800-544-4944. Liberty offers a discounted rate for income-eligible customers, an arrearage management program for overdue balances, payment plans and the Good Neighbor Energy Fund, which the Salvation Army runs. Under the state rules, a payment plan on past-due charges runs at least four months unless the Consumer Division approves another period.

Customers of the Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant and of other companies can call the number on their bill.

PACE runs fuel assistance for New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester, with phone help at 508-525-4271. New applicants can apply online from Nov. 1 for the season that runs to April 30, 2027. Citizens for Citizens covers Fall River, Freetown, Rehoboth, Swansea, Somerset, Seekonk, Westport, Taunton, Berkley, Dighton and Lakeville and sets up in-person applications at 508-679-0041 in Greater Fall River and 508-823-6346 in Greater Taunton. It says processing normally takes about six to eight weeks from Nov. 1 or the date an application is complete, whichever is later.

This winter's fuel assistance benefits and heating oil prices are in our fuel assistance story, and the Nov. 1 gas rate changes are in our story on winter gas bills.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact comes from chapter 164 of the Massachusetts General Laws (sections 124A, 124D, 124E, 124F and 124H), the Department of Public Utilities' billing and termination rules (220 CMR 25.01 and 25.03, read in the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute's copy), Liberty's Massachusetts customer pages and the fuel assistance pages of PACE and Citizens for Citizens. We read them on Oct. 29, 2026. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (12)

  1. Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 164, section 124F: Shutting off service during financial hardshipNo shutoff of gas or electric service used for heat between Nov. 15 and March 15 to a residential customer who cannot pay an overdue charge because of financial hardship. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  2. Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 164, section 124A: serious illnessNo shutoff during a serious illness certified by a registered physician or the local board of health, when the customer cannot afford to pay because of financial hardship. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  3. Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 164, section 124H: infant in the homeNo shutoff where a person under 12 months old lives, when the customer cannot afford to pay because of financial hardship. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  4. Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 164, section 124E: households 65 or olderNo shutoff of a household in which all residents are 65 or older without first complying with the department's rules. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  5. Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 164, section 124D: tenants who are not the customer of recordNotice to each tenant, 15 to 30 days, and the right to pay the amount due and recover it from rent. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  6. Department of Public Utilities, 220 CMR 25.01: application and definitions (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute copy)Applies to gas, electric and water companies under the department and all municipal gas and electric plants; the definitions of financial hardship (fuel assistance income eligibility), heat related account and payment plan (at least four months). Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  7. Department of Public Utilities, 220 CMR 25.03: serious illness, infant and winter protection (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute copy)Phone claims, the seven-day form, presumptive evidence, last winter's fuel assistance protection to Jan. 1, forms by Nov. 15, renewal, notices, the 72-hour postponement, the three-day notice, disputes and the $100 penalty. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  8. Liberty (Massachusetts gas): Special Protections programFinancial hardship, age 65 and older and doctor certification forms; apply through the contact center. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  9. Liberty (Massachusetts gas): Natural gas financial helpIncome-eligible discount rate, Arrearage Management Program, payment plans, HEAP, Good Neighbor Energy Fund (The Salvation Army), budget billing. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  10. Liberty (Massachusetts gas): Fall River residential home pageCustomer care 800-544-4944; community list including Fall River, Somerset, Swansea and Westport. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  11. PACE: Home Energy Assistance Program 2026-2027Towns served, 508-525-4271, online applications from Nov. 1, season Nov. 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027, 2026 income guidelines. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
  12. Citizens for Citizens: Fuel Assistance Program (HEAP)Income limits by household size, service area, 508-679-0041 and 508-823-6346, about six to eight weeks to process. Read Oct. 29, 2026.

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