On November 11th the Sturgis City Commission approved General Shutoff Rules for the City’s Electric Utility.  The new rules, the result of a state-wide effort by municipal electric utilities, provide protections for electric customers in a variety of situations.

The central piece of the new rules is the Winter Protection Program, which prevents the shutoff of electrical service to senior citizen and eligible low-income customers during the winter months (November 1st to March 31st).

Eligible low-income customers must have income that does not exceed 150% of the federal poverty level or receive assistance from a state emergency relief program or Medicaid.  These customers must also agree to pay at least seven percent of their estimated annual bill each month during the winter months; payment arrangements can be made for past due amounts when applying for shutoff protection.

Senior customers need only to be age 65 or older and notify the City of Sturgis Customer Service Department to participate in the program.

Any customer participating in the Winter Protection Program must pay the charges for the amount of electricity they used while on the program starting April 1st and complete payments by the following November 1st.

Participation in the program does not relieve payment for electric usage, it only prevents shutoff during the winter months.

The new General Shutoff Rules also include protections for customers with a proven medical emergency or critical care condition.  A medical emergency covers medical conditions which would be aggravated by the service being shut off and a critical care condition is one where the customer or member of their household requires home medical equipment or a life support system.

In either case, customers can postpone shutoff for up to 21 days with documentation by a medical professional of their condition or need for medical equipment.  Depending on the condition, customers may also have to provide further information to the Customer Service Department to meet the requirements of the program.  The program allows for extensions of the shutoff postponement if need is documented.

Further shutoff protections exist for the households of soldiers on active duty with the military.  State law allows these households to apply for shutoff protection of up to 90 days during the time the soldier is serving in active duty; customers must be able to verify the active duty status for the protection to apply.

The new rules also provide shutoff protection during cases of extreme temperature; if the temperature is expected to be 95 degrees or greater, electric service to eligible senior citizens will not be shut off.  The Sturgis Electric Department will also consider expected temperatures during the winter months.

In all cases, these new rules are designed to help protect electric customers during extreme circumstances.  The specific guidelines regarding all these programs and who qualifies for each are available online at the Sturgis Electric Department’s webpage and by contacting Customer Service at (269) 659-7232.

Source:  News release from the City of Sturgis