North Dakota

NDModerate

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
North Dakota 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.nd.gov handles complaints against regulated utilities in North Dakota. Filing one can pause a disconnection while it is looked at.

Electric Gas Water Medical Low Income Regulator

Electric Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice required10 days

Reconnection feeVaries by utility

Seasonal and weather protections: No blanket winter disconnection ban. November 1–April 30: utilities must attempt personal or phone contact before shutting off heat-related services. If unable to reach an adult at the residence, cannot disconnect until specific notification period passes. Customers can delay shutdown for up to 30 days by claiming dangerous health conditions, age 65+, or handicap. No disconnection on weekends, Fridays, state holidays, day before a state holiday, or after noon.

Major Utilities

Xcel Energy North…Montana-Dakota Ut…Otter Tail Power

Xcel Energy North Dakota

Eastern North Dakota (Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot area); operates as Northern States Power Company (NSP), a subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc.

10-day notice

a 30-day stay is available if the customer is 65+, disabled, or reports a dangerous health condition within the 10-day window

Corrected service area: NSP/Xcel's ND territory is eastern ND (Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot), not 'northern' generally, and the corporate relationship was backwards (NSP is Xcel's operating subsidiary, not the other way around)

As an investor-owned electric utility, it is bound by NDAC 69-09-02-05.1 (current

69-09-02-05 was superseded)

A utility may not disconnect for nonpayment until it gives written notice, and service will be discontinued only if the delinquent account is not paid within 10 calendar days from the date of mailing or personal delivery (69-09-02-05.1(1)(e))

The reconnection fee is 'established in the utility's rate schedules' (69-09-02-05.1(4)) - a tariff-specific figure, not a fixed statewide amount, so it is left null

Assistance Programs

NDAC 69-09-02-05.1(1)(a) requires a copy of the disconnection notice to also be mailed to the nearest social service office and any other approved financial-assistance agency, with the customer's prior consent. The rule itself does not name a specific program (e.g., LIHEAP is administered by ND Health and Human Services, a separate agency not confirmed via a source in the approved hierarchy for this row).

"North Dakota Administrative Code 69-09-02-05.1, Discontinuance of Electric Service." ndlegis.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Montana-Dakota Utilities Electric

Western and central North Dakota; also serves Montana and South Dakota

10-day notice

customers 65+, disabled, or reporting a dangerous health condition can obtain a 30-day stay if they notify the utility within that 10-day window

MDU's North Dakota electric service is investor-owned and bound by NDAC 69-09-02-05.1 (current version

69-09-02-05 was superseded)

A utility may disconnect for nonpayment only after written notice, and only if the delinquent account remains unpaid 10 calendar days after the notice is mailed or delivered (69-09-02-05.1(1)(e))

The reconnection fee is 'established in the utility's rate schedules' (69-09-02-05.1(4)), a tariff-specific figure rather than a fixed statewide amount, so it is left null

Assistance Programs

NDAC 69-09-02-05.1(1)(a) requires the disconnection notice to also be copied to the nearest social service office and any other approved financial-assistance agency (with the customer's consent); the rule does not itself name a specific program.

"North Dakota Administrative Code 69-09-02-05.1, Discontinuance of Electric Service." ndlegis.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Otter Tail Power

Eastern North Dakota (Wahpeton, Stutsman County area); headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota (not a North Dakota location); also serves Minnesota and South Dakota

10-day notice

Wahpeton, Stutsman County), not 'south-central.' As an investor-owned utility it is bound by NDAC 69-09-02-05.1: disconnection for nonpayment requires prior written notice and is allowed only after the account remains unpaid 10 calendar days from mailing/delivery of that notice (69-09-02-05.1(1)(e)), with a 30-day stay available for customers 65+, disabled, or reporting a dangerous health condition

Corrected service area: the drafting agent's 'Fergus County' does not exist in North Dakota (Fergus Falls, the company's headquarters, is in Minnesota)

Otter Tail's actual ND service territory is the eastern part of the state along the Minnesota border (e.g

The reconnection fee is set in the utility's own rate schedule (69-09-02-05.1(4)), not a fixed statewide figure, so it is left null

Assistance Programs

"North Dakota Administrative Code 69-09-02-05.1, Discontinuance of Electric Service." ndlegis.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Gas Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice required10 days

Reconnection feeVaries by utility

Major Utilities

Xcel Energy North…Montana-Dakota Ut…

Xcel Energy North Dakota Gas

Eastern North Dakota (Fargo, Grand Forks area); operates as Northern States Power Company (NSP), a subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc.

10-day notice

69-09-01-18 was superseded), a near-identical counterpart to the electric rule: disconnection for nonpayment requires written notice, and service is discontinued only if the account remains unpaid 10 calendar days after mailing/delivery of that notice (69-09-01-18.1(1)(e)), with a 30-day stay for customers 65+, disabled, or reporting a dangerous health condition

Corrected service area to match the electric-side entity (eastern ND, not 'northern')

As an investor-owned gas utility, NSP-ND's gas service is bound by NDAC 69-09-01-18.1 (current

The reconnection fee is 'established in the utility's rate schedules' (69-09-01-18.1(4)) rather than a fixed statewide figure, so it is left null

Assistance Programs

NDAC 69-09-01-18.1(1)(a) requires the disconnection notice to also be copied to the nearest social service office and any other approved financial-assistance agency (with the customer's consent); the rule does not itself name a specific program.

"North Dakota Administrative Code 69-09-01-18.1, Discontinuance of Gas Service." ndlegis.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Montana-Dakota Utilities Gas

Western and central North Dakota; also serves Montana and South Dakota

10-day notice

Disconnection for nonpayment requires prior written notice, and service is discontinued only if the account remains unpaid 10 calendar days after mailing/delivery of the notice (69-09-01-18.1(1)(e)), with a 30-day stay available for customers 65+, disabled, or reporting a dangerous health condition

MDU's North Dakota gas service is investor-owned and bound by NDAC 69-09-01-18.1 (current version

69-09-01-18 was superseded)

The reconnection fee is set in the utility's own rate schedule (69-09-01-18.1(4)), not a fixed statewide figure, so it is left null

Assistance Programs

"North Dakota Administrative Code 69-09-01-18.1, Discontinuance of Gas Service." ndlegis.gov. Retrieved 22 Sep 2026.

Water Shutoff Rules

Regulatory notice requiredNot regulated / varies

Medical & Vulnerable Household Exemptions

Claiming dangerous health conditions delays shutoff for up to 30 days. Customers age 65+ and handicapped also receive 30-day delay upon claim within 10 days of mailing the notice.

Low-Income Protections

LIHEAP administered by ND Community Action agencies. Xcel Energy, MDU, and Otter Tail Power offer low-income assistance programs. ND PSC requires payment plan information in disconnection notices.

Your State Regulator

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

Data last verified: 2026-09-22. Rules may change — verify with your state regulator.