Nebraska

NEModerate

Days notice (electric)

Days notice (gas)

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Winter moratorium

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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
Nebraska 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
psc.nebraska.gov handles complaints against regulated utilities in Nebraska. Filing one can pause a disconnection while it is looked at.

Electric Gas Water Medical Low Income Regulator

Electric Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice required7 days

Reconnection feeVaries by utility

Winter moratorium: November 1–March 31 (Cold Weather Rule for natural gas customers of Black Hills Energy and NorthWestern Energy regulated by Nebraska PSC): prevents disconnection of natural gas service without providing an additional 30 days to pay beyond the normal bill due date. Limited scope — primarily natural gas, and not all utilities. Many Nebraska utilities are municipally owned and not under PSC jurisdiction.

Major Utilities

Omaha Public Powe…Nebraska Public P…

Omaha Public Power District (OPPD)

13-county service territory in eastern Nebraska including Omaha; publicly owned power district (not a municipal utility owned by a village)

7-day notice

A physician, physician assistant, or APRN certificate that disconnection would create an immediate, serious health hazard for the subscriber or a household resident, filed within 5 days (excluding holidays/weekends) of the notice, blocks disconnection for at least 30 days (one postponement per nonpayment incident)

70-1605 (public/private utility companies furnishing water, natural gas, or electricity at retail, other than a village-owned municipal utility) bars disconnection for nonpayment for at least 7 business days -- that is, 'at least seven days after notice is sent or given,' excluding holidays and weekends from that count

notice may be in person, first-class mail (conspicuously marked), or electronic delivery if the customer requested that method

70-1606 requires the notice to state the reason for the proposed disconnection, the disconnection date, contact information, the customer's right to a pre-disconnection conference (service may not be disconnected while a requested conference is pending), the cost of restoring service, and installment/welfare-assistance information

70-1605 also caps discontinuance/reconnection fees at 'the reasonable costs of providing such service' but states no specific dollar figure, so reconnection_fee is left null

OPPD is a public power district, not 'a municipal utility owned and operated by a village' (which is separately, and identically, covered by Sec

70-1603's 7-day rule), so it falls within Sec

70-1605's 'public...utility company' language

this reading was not confirmed against a PSC order or case law specific to OPPD in this pass

Assistance Programs

Sec. 70-1606 requires the disconnection notice to disclose welfare/public-assistance information and installment-payment options; the specific Nebraska LIHEAP administering agency and any OPPD-specific hardship program were not independently confirmed from a primary source in this pass.

"Nebraska Revised Statutes Sec. 70-1605 and Sec. 70-1606 (Nebraska Legislature website)." nebraskalegislature.gov. Retrieved 21 Sep 2026.

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD)

Wholesale and retail electric service across most of Nebraska outside the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas; publicly owned power district

7-day notice

70-1606 sets required notice content, a pre-disconnection conference right, and a 30-day medical-certificate postponement (one per nonpayment incident, certificate filed within 5 business-equivalent days of notice)

Same statutory protections as described for OPPD apply: Neb

70-1605 requires at least 7 business days' notice -- i.e., 7 days excluding holidays/weekends -- before nonpayment disconnection

fees are capped at reasonable cost with no statutory dollar figure

NPPD is a public power district rather than a village-owned municipal utility, so it appears to fall under Sec

70-1605's coverage rather than the parallel village-utility statute (Sec

70-1603), though this was not confirmed against a specific PSC or NPPD-board order

Assistance Programs

Sec. 70-1606 requires disclosure of welfare-assistance and installment-payment information in the notice; no NPPD-specific program was independently confirmed from a primary source in this pass.

"Nebraska Revised Statutes Sec. 70-1605 and Sec. 70-1606 (Nebraska Legislature website)." nebraskalegislature.gov. Retrieved 21 Sep 2026.

Gas Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice required7 days

Reconnection feeVaries by utility

Major Utilities

Black Hills Energy (Nebraska Gas Utility Company, LLC)

Multiple Nebraska communities including Kearney, Norfolk and surrounding areas; investor-owned natural gas utility

7-day notice

A licensed physician/PA/APRN certificate of immediate serious health hazard, filed within 5 days of notice (holidays/weekends excluded), blocks disconnection for at least 30 days (one postponement per nonpayment incident)

As a private utility company furnishing natural gas at retail, Black Hills Energy is squarely covered by Neb

70-1605: at least 7 business days' written/electronic notice -- i.e., 7 days excluding holidays and weekends -- before nonpayment disconnection

70-1606 requires the notice to state the reason and date of proposed disconnection, contact information, the right to a pre-disconnection conference (disconnection barred while a requested conference is pending), restoration cost, installment-plan and welfare-assistance information

70-1605 caps discontinuance/reconnection fees at 'reasonable costs' without stating a dollar amount, so reconnection_fee is left null

Black Hills Energy's own Nebraska tariff was not independently fetched in this pass

Assistance Programs

Sec. 70-1606 requires the notice to disclose welfare-assistance and payment-plan information; the specific Nebraska LIHEAP administering agency was not independently confirmed from a primary source in this pass.

"Nebraska Revised Statutes Sec. 70-1605 and Sec. 70-1606 (Nebraska Legislature website)." nebraskalegislature.gov. Retrieved 21 Sep 2026.

Water Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice requiredNot regulated / varies

Medical & Vulnerable Household Exemptions

Medical certificate from a licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse filed within 5 days (excluding holidays and weekends) of receiving notice prevents disconnection for at least 30 days.

Low-Income Protections

LIHEAP available through Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Nebraska Energy Office administers assistance programs. Many utilities are municipally owned (OPPD, LES) with their own assistance programs.

Your State Regulator

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

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