On Thursday, September 17, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin voted to extend the moratorium on utility residential customer disconnections and refusal of service for nonpayment until November 1. Prior to the extension, regulated utilities were not allowed to disconnect service for non-payment until
October 1. The move comes as COVID-19 positive cases continue to spike in the state.
The PSC’s actions come as Wisconsin is approaching its annual moratorium on cold weather disconnections, for utility service used for home heating. The moratorium is set to begin on November 1, 2020 and runs to April 15, 2021. Water, electric, and gas utilities seeking to request the ability to disconnect during the winter moratorium will have to file a disconnection plan with the PSC and receive approval before they can proceed with disconnections.