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Delaware's heating and cooling season shutoff rules, the 32 degree and 105 heat index limits, medical certification, third-party notice and PSC complaints.

Delaware's two protected seasons

Delaware's main shutoff protections live in Regulation 3002 of the Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC), which covers termination of service during extreme conditions. It applies to any electric or natural gas utility the PSC regulates when that utility serves a home. The regulation defines a heating season from November 15 to March 31 and a cooling season from June 1 through September 30. During those months a covered utility must follow extra notice and weather rules before it ends service for nonpayment. Outside those months, the extra steps in Regulation 3002 do not apply, so ask what notice your utility gives the rest of the year. If a city utility or a cooperative sends your bill, ask that provider whether it follows the same rules and request its policy in writing.

Fourteen days of written notice and phone calls

In the heating or cooling season, a covered utility must send written notice at least 14 calendar days before it terminates service for nonpayment. The notice has to give the termination date and the ways you can avoid it, including payment arrangements, dispute procedures, installment plans and assistance organizations. During the heating season the utility must also make at least two documented phone attempts on separate days, and one of them must be after 6 p.m. In the cooling season it must make at least one. If the billing address differs from the home being served, the heating season notice must go to the occupant too. The employee sent to disconnect must make a good faith attempt to speak with someone in person.

Freezing mornings and heat index days

Regulation 3002 also blocks shutoffs on the most dangerous days. In the heating season, a covered utility cannot terminate service for nonpayment on a day when the National Weather Service reports an 8 a.m. temperature at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit at a Delaware location within 50 miles of the home. In the cooling season, the bar applies when the 8 a.m. forecast predicts a heat index of 105 degrees or higher. When a shutoff is put off for weather, the utility must tell you it will end service on a later day unless proper payment arrangements are made. Treat that warning as your real deadline, and call to set up a plan before the weather turns mild.

Medical certification under Delaware rules

During the heating and cooling seasons, Delaware's regulation offers strong protection when someone in the home is so ill that losing utility service would adversely affect their health or recovery. The illness must be certified in writing by a licensed Delaware physician or an accredited Christian Science practitioner, and once the utility receives that certification it may not disconnect service. The regulation does not say how long a certification lasts or how often it must be renewed, so ask the utility directly and get the answer in writing. Send the certification as early as you can, keep a copy, and confirm by phone that it was received and added to the account. Keep paying what you can, since the balance stays on the account.

Third-party notices and master-metered buildings

Regulation 3002 requires a utility to tell customers about any third-party notice program it offers. If yours has one, you can name a relative or another trusted person to receive copies of past-due and termination notices. You both sign in writing, and that person is not liable for the bill. Renters in buildings served through one master meter get their own protection. Before ending service to the building for nonpayment, the utility must give occupants at least 10 calendar days of notice by mail or posting, explaining how a tenant or public agency can make or guarantee the payment. The owner, the PSC and the Division of the Public Advocate must each receive written notice at least 14 calendar days ahead.

Finding help and filing a complaint in Delaware

Start with the assistance organizations listed on your termination notice, since the regulation requires the utility to name them. Delaware's Division of Social Services runs energy assistance with community agencies such as Catholic Charities and First State Community Action Agency, and you can apply any time through the state's ASSIST self-service portal. Crisis Assistance runs all year for a shutoff notice, a fuel tank at or below 10 percent or past-due energy bills, and Winter Heating Assistance runs October 1 through March 31. If you believe a utility ended service in violation of Regulation 3002, you can file a formal written complaint with the PSC. In that proceeding the utility carries the burden of proving it followed the rules, and a utility found in violation can be fined up to twice the arrearage, capped at $1,000 for each day of the violation.

Settlemont while Delaware protections hold

Seasonal rules can buy time, and Settlemont can help close the gap on a specific Utility bill while that time runs. Settlemont is bill payment technology operated by a for-profit company. On the private form you enter your first name, email, state, bill category, amount and due date, and nothing else. A one-time private access code then lets you identify your utility in a separate private step. Staff independently verify the utility, you and the current balance, and each submission is checked for duplicates and fraud signals. If approved, your page shows only your first name, Delaware, Utility and the verified amount. Supporters' payments go directly to the utility, with a 7% card or 5% bank service fee added on their side. You pay Settlemont nothing, and payment is not guaranteed.

Sources

Facts checked November 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the agency or utility before relying on a protection.

Support on Settlemont goes directly to the biller, never as cash to the bill owner.

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