Utility shut offs to start Thursday after winter moratorium ends

GREEN BAY – Another April 15th deadline may cause thousands of utility customers in the state to spend any tax refund money on their past-due electric and gas bills. Utilities can start shutting off power Thursday.According to Northeast Wisconsin's three largest utility companies, WPS, We Energies and Alliant Energy, more than 107,000 customers in their service areas in the state are at risk of being disconnected, having racked up millions of dollars in unpaid bills."We do not want to disconnect any of our customers, we want to make sure our customers are safe," said Wisconsin Public Service spokesperson Lisa Prunty. She says through February, more than 28,000 rate payers have unpaid bills.State law prohibits utilities from shutting off power over the winter. She says 200 to 300 W-P-S customers could see their electricity and gas turned off, starting Thursday. Last year, WPS disconnected about 14,000 customers through the end of October.If you need help paying your bill, utility companies have ways to manage your past-due payments. There is also financial assistance available through state, county and private social service agencies."We want people to call us, right away, give us a call, let us get that payment plan set up, and then – again – if you fall into a situation where you're still on hard times, you're not able to pay that bill, call us, back right away so that we're aware of that situation."Prunty says disconnection notices have been mailed out to past-due customers and users will get a phone call, notifying the day their service will be disconnected. But she says beware."If someone calls you whether you're a business or a resident, and they tell you that this is WPS and we are going to disconnect your power within 45 minutes, do not give them any money over the phone.""These scams come in waves, and when they come in waves, we may hear from a handful of people a day,” said Jared Albracht, a spokesperson with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. “They tend to move around the state and almost go from city to city, using a different utility's name as they go around."Albracht says people can mask the caller ID to make it appear the phone call is coming from the utility. He says if it seems suspicious, hang up and call your utility company directly.