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No Veteran Shutoff Rule — But a Winter Regime a VA Pension Household Can Use

The regulation that governs when a Kentucky utility may cut off a household contains no veteran or military provision at all. What it does contain is an income-based winter regime: a certificate of need from the state health cabinet buys a thirty-day stay of termination between 1 November and 31 March, and a household already disconnected can be reconnected in those months by paying one-third of the arrears or $200, whichever is less. A medical certificate buys a separate thirty days at any time of year.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Thirty days’ stay on a certificate of need or a medical certificate; winter reconnection for one-third of arrears or $200, whichever is less

The income test is the health cabinet’s energy assistance eligibility, or gross household income at or below 130 percent of the poverty level. VA disability compensation is not addressed in the regulation, so how the cabinet counts it is unknown and is not assumed here.
The regulation binds utilities the commission regulates. A municipal electric system or a rural co-operative outside commission jurisdiction may operate on its own tariff.

Who is entitled to it

You are in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

From what you have told us so far, you appear to qualify.

How to claim it

Deadline: Within the ten-day termination notice period

1Move inside the ten-day window. Section 15(3)(b) requires the certificate to be presented to the utility during the initial ten-day termination notice period — a certificate produced after the cut-off does not buy the stay.
2Ask the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, or its local designee, for the certificate. Eligibility is either eligibility for the cabinet’s energy assistance programme or certified genuine financial need, defined as gross household income at or below 130 percent of the poverty level.
3The winter stay only runs on a notice issued between 1 November and 31 March. Section 15(3)(a) attaches that date range to the certificate route.
4Expect to make a payment and sign a plan. The thirty-day extension is conditioned on paying something now in accordance with your ability, and agreeing a repayment plan that makes you current no later than 15 October.
5Do not accept a new deposit demand. Sections 15(3)(d) and 16(1)(d) both bar the utility from requiring a new deposit from a customer who avoids termination or is reconnected on these grounds.
6If you are already disconnected, Section 16 is the one to quote. Between 1 November and 31 March the utility must reconnect on a certificate of need, payment of one-third of the outstanding bill or $200 whichever is less, and a repayment schedule ending by 15 October. If the arrears exceed $600, a plan paying current charges plus a good-faith reduction consistent with your ability to pay must be accepted.
7A medical certificate is a separate and year-round route. Service may not be terminated for thirty days beyond the termination date where a physician, registered nurse or public health officer certifies in writing that termination will aggravate a debilitating illness or infirmity suffered by a resident of the premises.
8Take the weatherisation referral seriously — it is a condition, not an offer. A customer obtaining a certificate of need must agree to accept referral to and use the weatherisation services the health cabinet administers, which include weather stripping, insulation and caulking.

Form: Certificate of need from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or its designee; or a written medical certificate
File with: Present the certificate to your utility; the certificate itself comes from the health cabinet or its local designee
Documents you will need: va benefit summary letter
Periodic: Re-confirmed from time to time.

CorrectionThere is no Kentucky veteran utility discount, and no veteran shutoff bar. The regulation that decides these questions was searched in full for "veteran" and "military" and contains neither word. What a veteran household actually has is the same income-based regime as every other household — which is worth knowing before spending an afternoon looking for a rate that does not exist.

Worth knowingThe two thirty-day stays are separate and can be used in different circumstances. The medical certificate route has no date range and no income test; the certificate of need route has both. A utility may refuse consecutive medical extensions past the first thirty days unless a partial payment plan comes with the certificate.

Worth knowingUtility staff are supposed to know this. Section 4 of the regulation requires annual training that includes a review of winter hardship and disconnect policy and of the health cabinet’s certificate of need programme, so a front-line refusal to discuss it is worth escalating.

Sources

authority · regulation807 KAR 5:006 Sections 15 and 16 — utility service rules: the medical certificate thirty-day bar, the certificate of need thirty-day bar with its 1 November to 31 March window and ten-day presentation rule, the deposit bar, winter hardship reconnection at one-third of arrears or $200 whichever is less, the $600 arrears rule, the 15 October repayment horizon, and the compulsory weatherisation referral. The regulation was read in full and contains no reference to military service or to a veteran

Why only one source type: The Public Service Commission’s own consumer pages returned an error on every path tried this session, so the commission’s plain-language version of these rules could not be read. The regulation is the operating instrument itself — a utility applies it directly and a complaint is decided on it — so it stands alone here.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.