Hawaii

HIModerate

Days notice (electric)

Days notice (gas)

✗

Winter moratorium

✓

Medical exemption

What to do today

If you have a shutoff notice, the date on it is the one that matters. These steps work best in this order.

Call your utility before the date on your notice
Ask for a payment plan or a deferred payment arrangement. Most states require your utility to offer one, and asking before the date is what keeps your service on. The number is on your bill.
Apply for energy assistance
LIHEAP helps with utility bills and does not have to be paid back. Call the national referral line on 1-866-674-6327 weekdays 9am to 7pm Eastern, or visit energyhelp.us.
Dial 211 for local help
211 is free and connects you to local funds for utilities, rent and food. Some local agencies can pay a utility directly to stop a shutoff.
Ask about medical certification
Hawaii recognises medical protections. If anyone in your home has a serious illness or relies on powered medical equipment, a note from a doctor can delay a shutoff. Ask your utility for the form today, because it usually has to be back within days.
Contact the regulator if your utility will not work with you
puc.hawaii.gov handles complaints against regulated utilities in Hawaii. Filing one can pause a disconnection while it is looked at.

Electric Gas Water Medical Low Income Regulator

Electric Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice requiredNot regulated / varies

Reconnection fee$20 standard, at 4 of 4 utilities below

Seasonal and weather protections: No winter moratorium (tropical climate). Hawaii PUC opened Docket No. 2025-0284 in June 2025 to review electric disconnection policies. Protections exist for vulnerable populations and extreme weather conditions per individual utility tariffs.

Major Utilities

Hawaiian Elec Co …Maui Elec Co Hawaii Elec Light…Kauai Island Util…

Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO)

Oahu island

5-day notice

Hawaiian Electric's own tariff, Rule No. 7 (Discontinuance and Restoration of Service), Sheet Nos

16 and 16A, effective 8/1/2026 under Transmittal No

25-04 (PUC Order No

42796): before disconnecting for nonpayment, HECO must give the customer written notice of at least 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays -- that is, 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays (Rule 7.A.8)

Rule 7.F sets a $20.00 service-establishment/reconnection charge, plus $25.00 more if same-day or after-hours reconnection is requested

HRS 269-30 gives the PUC general tariff-approval authority but states no day count itself

PUC Docket No

2025-0284 (opened June 2025) is reviewing statewide disconnection policy but has not changed this tariff

Reconnection fee:$20.00 (Service Establishment/Reconnection Charge); plus $25.00 additional for same-day or after-hours reconnection

"Hawaiian Electric Company Tariff — Rule No. 7, Discontinuance and Restoration of Service." hawaiianelectric.com. Retrieved 21 Sep 2026.

Maui Electric Company

Maui and Lanai islands

5-day notice

Maui Electric's own tariff, Rule No. 7 (Discontinuance and Restoration of Service), Sheet Nos

17-18.1, effective 8/1/2026 under Transmittal No

25-04 (PUC Order No

42796): nonpayment disconnection requires written notice of at least 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays -- that is, 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays (Rule 7.A.8)

Rule 7.D sets a $20.00 reconnection/service-establishment charge, plus $25.00 more if same-day or after-hours reconnection is requested

PUC Docket 2025-0284 (opened June 2025) is examining statewide disconnection standards but has not superseded this tariff

Reconnection fee:$20.00 (Service Establishment Charge); plus $25.00 additional for same-day or after-hours reconnection

"Maui Electric Company Tariff — Rule No. 7, Discontinuance and Restoration of Service." hawaiianelectric.com. Retrieved 21 Sep 2026.

Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO)

Hawaii (Big Island)

5-day notice

HELCO's own tariff, Rule No. 7 (Discontinuance and Restoration of Service), Sheet Nos

19-20A (Docket No

6432), effective 8/1/2026 under Transmittal No

25-04 (PUC Order No

42796): nonpayment disconnection requires at least 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays' written notice -- that is, 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays (Rule 7.A.8)

Rule 7.D sets a $20.00 reconnection charge, plus $25.00 more for same-day or after-hours reconnection

PUC Docket 2025-0284 (opened June 2025) is reviewing statewide disconnection standards but has not changed this tariff

Reconnection fee:$20.00 (Service Establishment and Reconnection Charge); plus $25.00 additional for same-day or after-hours reconnection

"Hawaii Electric Light Company Tariff — Rule No. 7, Discontinuance and Restoration of Service." hawaiianelectric.com. Retrieved 21 Sep 2026.

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC)

Kauai island; member-owned electric cooperative

5-day notice

KIUC's own tariff (KIUC Tariff No. 1, Rule No. 7, Original Sheets 22-25, Decision & Order No

19658): nonpayment disconnection requires written notice of at least 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays -- that is, 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays (Rule 7.A.5)

Rule 7.C sets a $20.00 reconnection charge during normal working hours or $40.00 after normal working hours

KIUC is a member-owned cooperative, but it still files this tariff with and is bound by the Hawaii PUC, so PUC-approved rules apply to it directly

Reconnection fee:$20.00 during normal working hours; $40.00 after normal working hours

"Kauai Island Utility Cooperative Tariff No. 1, Rule No. 7." kiuc.coop. Retrieved 21 Sep 2026.

Gas Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice requiredNot regulated / varies

Reconnection feeVaries by utility

Water Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice requiredNot regulated / varies

Major Utilities

Honolulu Board of Water Supply

Oahu island

5-day notice

BWS's own Rules and Regulations, Chapter II, Section 2-205: water service may be discontinued for nonpayment after at least 5 days excluding Sundays and holidays' written notice

Section 2-206 requires a turn-on/restoration charge but sets the amount "as established by the Department" rather than a fixed dollar figure in the rule itself, so a specific reconnection_fee cannot be confirmed from this source

BWS is a municipal utility, not regulated by the Hawaii PUC, so no statewide water-disconnection rule applies to it

its own rules govern instead

"Honolulu Board of Water Supply Rules and Regulations, Chapter II." boardofwatersupply.com. Retrieved 21 Sep 2026.

Medical & Vulnerable Household Exemptions

Medical emergencies provide protection from disconnection. Specific rules governed by individual utility tariffs under PUC oversight. Hawaii Revised Statutes §269-30 establishes utility disconnection notice requirements. Utility disconnection notice days not confirmed from primary source — listed as null pending PUC docket 2025-0284.

Low-Income Protections

LIHEAP available. Hawaii Electric Low Income Rate Assistance (LIRA) program. Hawaiian Electric Industries utilities offer low-income assistance.

Your State Regulator

File a complaint or get help from Hawaii's utility regulator →

Data last verified: 2026-09-21. Rules may change — verify with your state regulator.