You might face what most of us have experienced at one time or another: electricity disconnection.

This can happen when you forget to pay your bill or your auto-pay doesn’t work.

You can reconnect your electric service, usually within 24 to 48 hours, by paying all overdue charges and disconnection and reconnection fees.

If you cannot afford to pay your past-due balance today, you can try setting up a payment plan with your provider or shop for a different light company with no deposit on ComparePower.

Despite your outstanding balance with the old energy company, you may be able to get your lights on the same day with a new company while you work out a payment plan with your old provider.

In order to stay with your current electric provider and pay your balance, you might be asked to make a deposit equal to one-fifth of your average annual billings or two months’ estimated billings, whichever is greater.

Customers who have received a termination or disconnect notice or whose accounts have been disconnected within the past 12 months may be asked for an additional deposit by Retail Electric Providers (REPs).

After proper notice, a REP may disconnect service under Texas law:
– If you fail to pay your bill on time or do not make arrangements with the REP to pay the charges you owe.
– Deferred payment arrangements with your REP are not met.
– When you use your electric service in an unsafe manner.
– If you fail to pay your REP’s deposits.

REPs may disconnect service without notice:
– In case of an immediate safety issue.
– The service is unauthorized or hooked up without a contract.
– Equipment, such as the meter, of the power company has been tampered with.

You cannot be disconnected for the following reasons:
– If a previous resident of your home did not pay their electric bill.
– Not paying charges unrelated to electric service.
– Charges are in dispute until the REP wins the dispute.
– Billing errors or charges not appearing on your bill.
– If you were underbilled for a service that was rendered more than six months ago.
– Weather alerts from the National Weather Service.
– Failure to pay an estimated bill other than a meter-reading plan bill.

In cases where there is no immediate safety issue or evidence of theft of service, the REP must provide written notice of its intention to shut off your power at least ten (10) days before the disconnection date.

The notice must tell you why your service is being disconnected, what you can do to avoid disconnection, the charges you will have to pay for disconnection and reconnection, and the total amount that’s overdue.

The notice must explain how you can make arrangements to pay your overdue bill over time and tell you how the company will try to collect your unpaid charges if you do not pay or don’t make deferred payment arrangements before the shut-off date.

There are special rules for disconnecting service for seriously ill or disabled customers whose health would be impaired by shutting off power, customers served by energy assistance programs, and residents of master-metered apartments.

If you fail to meet your obligations by the disconnection date, your service may be shut off the next day unless that day is a weekend or holiday.