What Documents Stop a Pennsylvania Utility Shutoff?
Pennsylvania’s winter shutoff moratorium starts Dec. 1, and it covers households at or under 250% of the federal poverty level.
Before that date, paperwork is what stops a shutoff: a signed medical certificate, proof of household income, a payment arrangement, or a heating-assistance application already on file.
None of it kicks in on its own, and each one buys a different amount of time.
These are the documents you need to stop a utility shutoff in Pennsylvania.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Utility shutoff rules, income limits, and documentation requirements are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
A Medical Certificate From a Doctor
A medical certificate is the document that legally holds off a Pennsylvania utility shutoff, 30 days at a time, when a household needs more time before service gets cut.
The letter has to come from a licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner.
It has to state plainly that cutting off electric or gas service would harm someone living in the home.
You can fax it, email it, or hand it to the utility directly, and many Pennsylvania utilities post a dedicated number for medical certifications on their billing page.
The certificate works any time of year, not only during the state’s winter shutoff moratorium, which runs every Dec. 1 through March 31 under Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission rules.
That’s the part people miss.
The protection lasts up to 30 days from the date the utility gets it.
A doctor can renew it for as long as the illness continues and the household stays current on its bills.
Fall behind on those bills instead, and Pennsylvania caps a household at two more 30-day renewals for the same overdue balance, about 60 extra days under Public Utility Commission rules.
The bill still comes due.
A medical certificate only moves the shutoff date, so pairing it with a payment arrangement keeps unpaid charges from stacking up while the clock runs.
Proof of Household Income
Proof of household income is the document that gets a Pennsylvania household into a Customer Assistance Program (CAP), the utility’s income-based payment plan.
Pay stubs, a benefits award letter, or a recent tax return usually cover it.
The utility sets your CAP payment by household size and income once it has that paperwork on file.
Staying current on those CAP payments protects the household from a shutoff for nonpayment, the same protection a standard payment arrangement offers, for as long as the payments keep coming.
A deposit disappears too.
Utilities normally waive the security deposit for anyone enrolled in CAP, which matters for a household that’s already stretched thin before a single bill arrives.
Skip the paperwork, and the utility prices your account like anyone else’s, deposit included.
Income documentation decides your terms if a balance ever goes to a formal payment arrangement, too.
Pennsylvania sets the payback schedule by income level once a customer has broken one deal already.
The Math Behind Pennsylvania’s Income Cutoffs
Pennsylvania’s winter shutoff protection applies to households at or under 250% of the federal poverty level.
In 2026, that comes to $39,900 a year for one person or $82,500 for a household of four.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) uses a lower bar.
That program’s income limit sits at 150% of the federal poverty level.
That’s $23,940 for one person and $49,500 for a household of four, under the table Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services updated for 2026.
Philadelphia Gas Works customers get the same 250% winter shutoff protection as everyone else in Pennsylvania, not a narrower 150% line.
State law carves out one exception for Philadelphia Gas Works.
Starting each Jan. 1, it can terminate a customer earning between 150% and 250% of the federal poverty level.
The exception applies only if that customer hasn’t paid at least half of the charges due in each of the prior two months.
That exception skips a household with someone 65 or older, a child 12 or younger, or a medical certificate on file.
The exception also skips a household that has already paid at least 15% of its monthly income toward the bill in the last two months.
A Payment Arrangement
A payment arrangement is the document that keeps a shutoff on hold as long as a Pennsylvania household keeps making the payments.
You can set one up directly with the utility.
State rules only let a customer establish one arrangement through the Public Utility Commission itself, though the utility has room to offer more than one arrangement on its own.
Miss it twice, and the options shrink fast.
No exceptions.
Break two or more prior arrangements, and the utility can demand the full overdue balance before it restores service.
A written or emailed confirmation is worth keeping, since a phone call alone leaves no record if a dispute comes up later.
If a household’s income drops or a hardship hits, a lost job, a new illness, or storm damage to the home, the commission can reset a broken arrangement’s terms.
That only happens with paperwork showing the change.
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Your LIHEAP Application or Crisis Grant Paperwork
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) paperwork can turn a shutoff notice into the very document that unlocks emergency money.
A household that's already behind qualifies for a LIHEAP crisis grant once it has a notice showing service is off, or will be within 60 days.
Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services accepts that notice as proof of the emergency.
The notice is the proof.
The grant pays the utility directly.
The regular LIHEAP season normally opens in November and runs into spring, so the paperwork window is open, but it isn't endless.
A household that already received a standard LIHEAP benefit for the season has to contact its county assistance office directly to report the emergency.
That's different from filing a brand-new application from scratch.
Nobody wants to wait for a shutoff notice to apply.
Filing before unpaid charges pile up still beats scrambling once the notice shows up, and several home-heating assistance programs run alongside LIHEAP for exactly that reason.
Psst! Not sure where you stand before winter hits? Run through this checklist and see how prepared you are.
A Protection From Abuse Order
A Protection from Abuse (PFA) order gives a Pennsylvania household winter shutoff protection no matter what its income looks like.
Submit a copy of the PFA, or another Pennsylvania court order showing clear evidence of domestic violence.
The utility can't cut electric or gas service between Dec. 1 and March 31 without the commission's permission, income limit or not.
The order also settles who owes what.
A survivor can't be held responsible for a bill that's in someone else's name.
If the utility still requires a deposit, Pennsylvania lets a PFA holder pay it over three installments instead of all at once.
Not their debt to carry.
Mail it, fax it, or call the utility's customer assistance line directly to submit it.
Utilities serving Pennsylvania keep this paperwork confidential and don't share it with anyone else, including the person named in the order.
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FAQ
Quick answers to what Pennsylvanians ask most about stopping a utility shutoff.
Does a doctor's note stop a Pennsylvania utility shutoff?
Yes, if it's signed by a licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner and states that shutting off service would harm someone in the home. The protection lasts up to 30 days and a doctor can renew it.
When is Pennsylvania's winter utility shutoff moratorium?
Every Dec. 1 through March 31, for households at or under 250% of the federal poverty level, and that includes Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) customers. PGW has one narrower exception that can apply in the 150%-to-250% band starting each Jan. 1. Utilities can't terminate service during that window without the Public Utility Commission's permission.
Can a Pennsylvania utility shut off service on a Friday?
No. State rules bar termination on Fridays, so a household that loses service always has the next business day to arrange to get it back on.
Is Pennsylvania's Chapter 14 utility protection law still in effect?
The law that created these protections lapsed at the end of 2024.
The Public Utility Commission has kept the same rules in place through a formal policy statement while it moves them into permanent regulations.
What income qualifies for LIHEAP in Pennsylvania?
In 2026, that's $23,940 for one applicant, rising to $49,500 once a household reaches four people.
A Third-Party Notification Form
One more piece of paper helps even when nothing else applies: A Third-Party Notification form adds a second contact to every shutoff notice a Pennsylvania household receives.
One contact, one safeguard.
That contact could be a relative, a neighbor, or a caregiver, someone who can step in if the household misses a notice.
Pennsylvania's utility fees have risen fast since 2020, so a missed notice on a bigger bill costs more than ever.
That contact can't be billed for someone else's account, but they can call the utility before the deadline passes, which has saved many households that missed their mail.
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