TOPEKA – The Kansas Cold Weather Rule ends on March 31, and Kansans who are delinquent on electric and natural gas utility bills will be subject to disconnection of service. The rule, in effect November 1 through March 31 each year, provides protection to residential customers who cannot fully pay winter utility bills from companies under the Kansas Corporation Commission’s (KCC) jurisdiction. That protection ends Saturday.

But for Kansas customers, there’s still time to contact your utility company to set up a payment plan, but failure to make arrangements or failure to adhere to an already established payment plan could result in service disconnection. Reconnection may require payment in full.

The Cold Weather Rule requires utilities to set up 12-month payment plans for customers who cannot afford to pay their full bill. As part of this arrangement, the customer must make an initial payment of 1/12 of the overdue amount, 1/12 of the bill for current service, the full amount of any disconnection or reconnection fees, plus any applicable deposit owed to the utility. The balance will be billed in equal payments over the next 11 months in addition to the regular monthly bill.

“Utility companies recognize that managing energy bills can be stressful during these difficult economic times,” said KCC Chairman Mark Sievers. “They want to help customers stay connected to their service. The best way to do that is to contact your gas or electric company to make arrangements.”