Electric Service Disconnections Resume September 2
Posted: Monday, August 17, 2020
Stoughton Utilities is advising electric and water customers who are behind on their bills to immediately pay any delinquent balances, or enter into a deferred payment agreement with the utility to avoid service disconnection.
Wisconsin’s Winter Emergency Period, often referred to as the moratorium on residential service disconnection, ended April 15. Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, Stoughton Utilities suspended all delinquent account collection activity, including service disconnections, through September 1. Stoughton Utilities will disconnect all accounts with severely delinquent balances on September 2.
Special extensions are available if anyone in the home is currently infected with COVID-19, or was previously infected since March resulting in unexpected medical expenses.
Unpaid utility bills drive up costs for the whole community due to the fact that any balance that is uncollectable is essentially recovered from the entire customer base through future rates. It is Stoughton Utilities' goal to do whatever we can to collect unpaid bills, while also helping customers avoid service disruptions for nonpayment by working with them to establish a deferred payment agreement. Stoughton Utilities has not pursued any electric service disconnections since October 2019.
Situations can arise, making it difficult for customers to pay their bills...
However, to avoid disconnection, we urge customers to contact us to make the appropriate payment arrangements. If you are behind on your payments, we would like to help you get on a track to bringing your account current by scheduling payments that fall within your budget and schedule. Failure do do so will eventually result in electric service disconnection.
You can can contact Stoughton Utilities to establish a deferred payment agreement. We will work with you individually to negotiate payment options based upon your unique financial situation. However, any agreement will require a down-payment of at least one-third the past-due balance, or more depending upon your past payment history.
Stoughton Utilities also offers a Budget Billing plan to help customers better management their utility charges. When enrolled in budget billing, you pay equal monthly payments based on the estimated consumption, your current arrearages, and the estimated applicable rates for the year. Each January and July the payment amount is adjusted to accommodate seasonal and lifestyle changes. You can enroll in budget billing even if your account is currently delinquent. To find out what your estimated monthly payment will be, or to enroll in budget billing, please login to My Account.
Changes from prior years...
Stoughton Utilities' rate tariffs prohibit staff from offering deferred payment agreements to tenant customers that meets certain delinquency criteria. These rules have been suspended due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis. All residential customers that have not already had a deferred payment agreement are eligible to enter into a deferred payment agreement.
Assistance is still available...Various low-income assistance programs are offered to Stoughton Utilities customers. To apply for energy assistance, customers should immediately call 1-866-HEATWIS (432-8947) or click here to apply for Home Energy Plus online.
Any pending customer deposit requirements will be cancelled or refunded upon income verification and energy assistance approval; please request that your EA representative send us official approval documentation to speed up the process.
Under the standard eligibility requirements, customers at or below 60 percent of the state’s median income may qualify for WHEAP assistance. Standard energy assistance income guidelines for 2023-24 program year are as follows: Household Size
Three Month Household Income
Household Size
Three Month Household Income
Customers can review their account balances and make payments online by logging in to My Account. To make payment arrangements or to explore payment options, please contact us.