Know Your Rights: Utility Service and Billing

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As a consumer, you have rights and responsibilities the same as your utility provider. It is important to be aware of your rights so you know how to handle any issues, including violations on the part of your utility provider.

Delayed or Refused Service

Your utility provider typically must provide service to your address within five days of your written or verbal application for service. They can refuse to provide service if you owe money on a previous account in your name, unless you pay the amount owed in full, set up a payment plan, receive or apply for payment assistance, or have an open complaint regarding the amount owed. If there is not an outstanding bill, your utility provider can only delay service if there is a safety issue, an access issue, or a labor strike.

Delayed Billing (Back-Billing)

If you’ve received an unusually high bill, you may be experiencing back-billing. Back-billing is charging customers for services that were provided but not billed in a timely manner. 

For more information about back-billing, see LawNY’s article on Surprisingly High Utility Bills.

Service Shutoffs

There are rules regarding a utility provider’s right to terminate service.

There are rules about the timing of service shutoffs:

•  Service termination must be between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Thursday.
• Service termination cannot happen on a public holiday, the day before a holiday, during the two weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year’s Day, or on a day before your utility office is closed for any reason.

There are special protections for consumers with medical emergencies, the elderly, and the blind or disabled. You should notify your utility provider immediately if you qualify for any special protections. Your information is kept confidential.

If You Maintain the Utility Account

The utility company must provide you with a written Final Termination Notice. The utility company must wait 20 days after a bill due date to send the notice, then must wait 15 more days before terminating the service, giving you a chance to pay the bill or set up a payment agreement.

There are situations in which your utility provider cannot shut off your service, even if there is an unpaid bill. These include when:

• The amount was due more than a year before the bill, and the utility provider did not begin termination processes until you received the bill, through no fault of your own
• A doctor certifies that there is a medical emergency
• You are in a dispute regarding the unpaid amount and any undisputed amount is paid
• You make a payment in full when the utility company arrives to shut off the power.

If Your Landlord Maintains the Utility Account

The utility provider must provide tenants with notice of the landlord’s nonpayment. Between November 1 and April 15, if the utility company provides heat to the home, tenants must receive 30 days notice before service disconnection. For apartment buildings, there must be notices posted in the building and sent to tenants by mail at least 18 days before the service is disconnected. For two-family homes, tenants must be notified at least 15 days before the service disconnection.

The notice tells tenants how to contact the utility provider for assistance, even if the landlord refuses to pay, and how to receive assistance from the Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC assists tenants in making payment arrangements with the utility provider. Tenants may be able to make current utility payments directly and deduct the amounts from rent.

For more information on utility laws, service reconnection, or how to make a complaint, visit the Department of Public Service’s website’s Your Rights page.

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This article provides general information about this subject. Laws affecting this subject may have changed since this article was written. For specific legal advice about a problem you are having, get the advice of a lawyer. Receiving this information does not make you a client of our office.

Last Reviewed Date: April 2026