An Overview of NJ Electricity Shut-Off Regulations
Electric companies in New Jersey are regulated and controlled by the Board of Public Utilities. This agency oversees all utilities in NJ, including water, gas, telecommunications and electricity. These regulations can be found under the NJ Administrative Code, or NJAC, in Chapter 14 (emergency service protection). One of the main purposes of these rules is to ensure that customers are not unreasonably shut off of utilities during extreme weather conditions.
New Jersey lists the requirements for shutting the electricity off during these weather emergencies. This regulation governs electricity shut-off during winter months, specifically from November 15 through April 15. No utility company in NJ can shut off power when:
These are the general rules for prohibiting electric shut-offs during the winter months in New Jersey:
If the utility violates any of these rules, a homeowner may have a cause of action against the electric company for money damages, filing fees, attorney fees and costs. In addition , the public agency may impose fines on the utility itself. If the electric company refuses to accept payment or offer the customer a reasonable long-term payment plan, that customer should file a complaint with the Board of Public Utilities. These complaints are handled by the Division of Customer Assistance. More information about their complaint procedures can be found under Section B.
You can file a complaint by mail, e-mail or telephone. There is no fee for filing a complaint, but the Division will never ask for a fee for filing. They will request basic information about your complaint, including:
It is important to file the complaint within 10 days of the violation. If a violation does occur, the utility company has the burden of proof to show that it complied with the law in shutting off a residential utility. Additionally, even if the company can prove that the law was followed, they must also show that the refusal to connect the utility is reasonable and proper. Even so, sometimes mistakes may be made by the utility company, so a customer should know their rights before automatically paying what the electric company demands.
Rights of Customers Regarding Electricity Shut-Offs
The law requires all New Jersey electric utilities to give you notice at least 7 days prior to the termination of service for non-payment of a bill. The notice must specify how much is past due, and how you can prevent discontinuance of service.
The public utility must also advise you of your right to apply for budget billing.
If your electricity service has been disconnected you are entitled to restoration right away if you pay the total balance, or setting up a payment arrangement with your utility. You are eligible for a payment arrangement even after you have previously signed an agreement. If you think your electricity was shut off improperly, tell the utility in writing and they can not terminate service while they are investigating the complaint.
Vulnerable Customer Protections
In recognition of its myriad social benefits, the government places particular importance on the need to ensure that utilities provide electricity services to vulnerable populations in a reliable, timely and affordable manner. Under New Jersey law, certain groups are afforded additional protections from service termination during the shut-off moratorium and billed at rates that reflect the importance of these services to them.
Low-income residential customers. In addition to the shut-off moratorium, New Jersey has payment plans available to low-income residential electric customers (i.e., those with incomes at or below 225 percent of the federal poverty level). These payment plans allow customers who are unable to pay their bills in full to make timely, regular payments to retire delinquent and current balances over time. In addition, the Board also recently instituted the Universal Service Fund (USF) Program, which provides financial assistance to low-income households. "Eligible customers," defined as households with incomes equal to or less than four hundred percent of the federal poverty guidelines, can apply for a grant which can be used to write off their entire unpaid balance. Upon its approval, the customer is required to complete a one-time annual payment plan of 1/12 of the electric bill over 11 months, plus 1/10 of the write-off amount, in addition to the customer’s monthly bill, to be eligible for the USF program. Customers can access the program through electric utilities’ website or by contacting their utility directly.
Elderly or disabled individuals. Customers who are at least sixty-five years old or disabled are also protected from service cancellation by the utilities. That includes individuals who are permanently and totally disabled, and receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits or Supplemental Security Income benefits. The protections under this program provide for a sixty-day notice for shut-off (instead of twenty) and additional time to comply with the arrearage payment plan. From November 15 through May 15, each utility must provide separate notice about the availability of this program to elderly residents at least once during the winter months.
Participation in this program requires fill out an "Application to Prevent Cancellation of Electric Service" that must be re-filed by a customer or the applicant’s designee (e.g., physician or other third party) at least once per year, particularly if the customer: (a) resides in a single-family home or unit; (b) lives with other individuals; (c) does not have medical or life-support equipment; (d) participates in any other utility assistance programs; (e) has high usage of electric space conditioning; (f) has a balance in excess of seventy-five dollars; or (g) wishes to continue participation past the expiration date.
Winter Shut-Off Moratoriums
In New Jersey, the winter shut-off moratorium applies to eligible residential customers from November 15 through March 15. The moratorium is applicable to residential customers of both electric and gas public utilities. Residential customers include low income households as well as customers receiving universal service energy assistance or LIHEAP benefits, senior citizens age 65 and older, blind or disabled persons, and tenants whose landlord pays the electric/gas utility bill. For all residential customers, utilities must make every reasonable effort in good faith to offer a deferred payment arrangement before shutting off service. At a minimum, the payment terms of the arrangement must be reasonably adequate to provide for the satisfaction of the arrearage in six or fewer months.
The winter shut-off moratorium does not apply to non-essential utility services, abandoned residences, abandoned account numbers, switchovers or transfer accounts, toll fraud accounts, employer groups, schools, churches, hospitals or institutions, vacant premises, master metered facilities, sales or promotional offices, temporary electric accounts, or in situations where the customer’s use of gas or electricity has been found to be unauthorized, illegal or fraudulent.
What to do if faced with a Shut-Off
While New Jersey law offers strong protections against the shut-off of electric service to residential accounts, it is best to reach out to your utility immediately. Verbal communication with the customer service representative of your utility is all that is required for protections to be in place; however, follow-up with a written letter, sent either by mail or email, is always recommended to ensure that all parties are clear on what has been agreed to so there are no misunderstandings later on.
Independent of the 2-month rule, you may wish to ask your utility for an extended payment plan to reduce your bill and avoid disconnection. Most utilities are happy to set these up. You will need to pay something toward your overdue balance up front. For example, a utility might want at least one-third of the amount owed in order to set up a payment agreement . The utility can then set future payments over an extended period of time (often equal to the time between monthly bills), giving the customer the opportunity to pay off the balance in installments. The utility may also ask that the agreement be contingent on regular, timely payment of future bills going forward. One of the best ways to get the utility to agree to an extended payment plan is to simply go in and pay whatever you can afford toward the unpaid balance voluntarily.
Beyond negotiating a payment agreement, New Jersey residents have several options to obtain help with their utility bills. They can apply for aid through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides grants to help low-income residents obtain energy assistance, as well as emergency LIHEAP funds for customers who are behind on their utility bills. Electric service payment assistance may also be available from the Universal Service Fund, a program designed to help qualified low-income residents pay for their home energy bills.
Legal Action and Dispute Resolution
Legal Remedies and Dispute Resolution
If you believe your electricity was unfairly disconnected, there are specific avenues within the law for filing a complaint. First of all, you should try to resolve the situation directly with the utility company. As soon as you know that your electricity is going to be disconnected, contact your service provider. Once a customer has received a disconnection notice, you may still avoid shut-off by paying the total past due balance by an established date. You must have payment in the form of cash, money order, certified check, or a credit or debit card. Be sure to keep the payment receipt for your records. If you can’t pay the full amount owed, ask to see if you qualify for budget billing, and set up a schedule to catch up on your missed payments.
If you cannot reach an agreement with your utility company and feel you’ve been wrongly disconnected, you can take the following steps:
If neither the utility nor the Board of Public Utilities can assist, you have the right to seek recourse in Superior Court. You can also bring a suit against your utility company. If your income falls under a certain level, you may qualify for free legal assistance with your case through a program administered by Legal Services of New Jersey.
Conclusion – Stay Informed and Safe
In this blog post, we have discussed the reasons why it is crucial to be familiar with New Jersey’s electricity shut-off laws and the protections they offer utility customers. We have covered the various steps that a utility company must take before shutting off electricity in the winter months, where a customer can go to avoid termination of service , and what you must do within days of service termination to keep your account open.
It is of paramount importance to make sure you have a full understanding of your rights as a utility consumer in New Jersey. Familiarity with these statutes helps keep consumers of electricity informed and cut down on being the victim of an aggressive or otherwise wrongful shut-off.