Know Your Rights - Energy Customer Protections
Natural Gas and Electric Customers
The New York State Home Energy Fair Practices Act (HEFPA) protects residential electric and natural gas utility customers from shutoffs and provides special protections for when a customer’s health and safety may be threatened by lack of service. Under HEFPA, special “cold weather” protections help consumers keep their service on during the cold weather period between November 1 and April 15.
For more information about your rights and responsibilities under HEFPA, visit www.AskPSC.com.
Cold Weather Protections
Heat-related service is vital to maintain your comfort and safety during the cold winter months. HEFPA requires that your service provider make a special effort to determine if shutting off your heat-related service during the cold weather period between November 1st and April 15th will cause a problem to the health and safety of you or members of your household.
Your Provider Will Contact You:
- At least three days before the scheduled shut off, your service provider will attempt to contact you or another adult in your home by telephone during normal business hours. If unsuccessful, your provider will attempt to reach you by telephone during nonbusiness hours (6 p.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays). If unsuccessful at reaching you by telephone, your provider will attempt to contact you in person.
- On the day of a service shut off, the service provider will attempt to contact, in person, you or an adult resident in your home.
During the Telephone Call and/or Home Visit:
- Your service provider will fully explain the reasons for the shut off, provide you with information about protections under HEFPA and work with you to arrange a payment arrangement to cover the overdue charges.
- Your provider will attempt to determine if any resident in your home is likely to suffer serious impairment to health and safety as a result of terminating your heat-related service.
- If your service provider determines that harm may result, it must notify the local Department of Social Services which will conduct its own investigation. Following this referral, your provider cannot shut off your service for another 15 days unless informed by Social Services that their investigation determined that harm is unlikely or that an alternate means of protecting your health and safety has been devised. However, you will be responsible for payment of the continued service.
- If your provider determines that harm is unlikely, it can begin shut off procedures following appropriate HEFPA rules.
If Your Provider Cannot Reach You:
- If your provider cannot reach you, your service may be shut off. Following this shut off, your provider will attempt to determine whether anyone is living in your residence and if so, whether there might be serious harm to that person's health or safety.
- For situations where harm may result, the service provider will restore service for 15 business days and notify the local Department of Social Services so that they can investigate.
Propane and Home Heating Oil Customers
From November 1 through April 15, entities under contract to deliver heating fuel to residential customers must notify those customers before refusing a requested delivery or suspending or terminating a scheduled delivery. These notification requirements depend on whether or not the customer has an automatic delivery contract."Automatic Delivery" Customers
An automatic delivery customer has a contract under which fuel is delivered to a residence whenever the distributor determines that delivery is needed, without specific authorization from the customer for each delivery. Heating fuel delivery companies are required to provide automatic delivery customers with written notice at least three days before suspending or terminating scheduled deliveries. Written notice must explain the reason for the cutoff. Delivery companies must also make three attempts to notify the customer by telephone at least three days before the cutoff date. In the telephone notice, the delivery company must:
- explain the reason for the cutoff;
- determine whether the customer is out of fuel or when more will be needed;
- ask if the customer can obtain fuel elsewhere or find alternative shelter and if not, inform a person designated by the customer and a social services district office;
- inform the customer that assistance may be available from a local social services office and provide contact information for that office;and ask if the customer wishes another person to be notified of the cutoff.
"Specific Request" Customers
Customers not on automatic delivery, obtain delivery only by specific request. Delivery companies are not required to provide these customers advance notice of refusal to make a requested delivery. However, if the customer is unable to obtain heating fuel from another source or secure adequate alternative shelter, delivery companies are required to notify persons designated by the customer as well as the social services district office.