Utility companies in Massachusetts must send three different bills or notices prior to actually sending out an employee who physically terminates the service (when the service is terminated for nonpayment).
First, the company must render a bill, based on an actual meter reading or an estimate. (The use of estimates is regulated under 220 C.M.R. § 25.02.)
Second, the company must send a second reminder notice, no earlier than 27 days after sending the initial bill, which can state that the company intends to terminate service no sooner than 48 days after the initial bill was received.
PRACTICAL TIPS
- Whenever possible, check the date on the termination notice. If it is more than 14 days old, it has expired. In order for the company to proceed with a termination, it must send a new termination notice. If you are in doubt as to whether the account is scheduled for termination, you can call the company and ask, “What is the status of this account?”
- Even if a termination notice has been sent, you often have several additional days to protect the utility service. For example, if the notice is received on a Tuesday, the company cannot shut off service until the next Monday because even a final termination notice must allow the customer another 3 days before actually terminating service, and the third day after the notice was received is a Friday. Since the company cannot shut off service on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, the earliest service can be terminated is the following Monday. In most cases, this would give the customer or advocate more than enough time to assert any protections against termination that may be available.
Third, the company must send a “final notice of termination,” which is often printed in red ink and which must be sent no sooner than 72 hours prior to actual termination. This “final notice of termination” is only good for 14 days. For example, if a company sends a notice on April 6 and is not able to get an employee to the house to physically terminate the service by April 20, the termination notice is no longer valid. The company must send a new notice before it can proceed with the termination.
Termination. The company must send a person to the home to physically turn off the utility service for nonpayment. Companies can only terminate service Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A termination cannot be performed on a legal holiday or the day before a legal holiday.1
1 An example of how the termination schedule works in practice can be found online at www.nclc.org/stay-connected.