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The Utilities Stay On — 90 Days’ Protection on Call-Up

Michigan law bars a public utility from cutting off heat, water, electricity or gas to a service member’s home for unpaid bills during the first 90 days of military service — and a separate law lets you apply for shut-off protection when a call-up cuts household income.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: No shut-off for unpaid heat, water, electricity or gas during the first 90 days of service

This delays a shut-off; it does not forgive the bill. The arrears are still owed when the protection ends, so the value is time rather than money.
The Attorney General states two separate routes. MCL 460.9c is applied for, by notifying your provider that you need assistance because of a reduction in household income resulting from a call to active military duty. MCL 32.517 is a prohibition on the utility that does not depend on an application.

Who is entitled to it

You are the servicemember, or a member of the immediate household.
Your home is in Michigan.

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.

How to claim it

Deadline: Notify the provider as soon as the orders arrive

1Notify the provider in writing as soon as the orders arrive, and say which protection you are invoking. Nothing here is automatic if the utility does not know you have been called up.
2For the income route, use MCL 460.9c: the Attorney General states you may apply for shut-off protection for electric and gas service by notifying your provider that you are in need of assistance because of a reduction in household income as the result of a call to active military duty.
3For the 90-day prohibition, use MCL 32.517: the service member and their immediate household shall not be deprived of or denied heat, water, electricity or gas by any public utility serving the home during the first 90 days of military service by reason of unpaid bills.
4Check that your orders fit that second one. It applies where you are on active service in excess of 7 days and so ordered by the Governor in support of civilian authority, or in time of war or emergency of this state or of the United States.
5Attach a copy of the orders. Every one of these protections turns on the orders, and a utility service centre cannot act on a description of them.
6Plan for the end of the 90 days. The bill does not go away, so use the breathing space to agree a payment arrangement rather than to stop thinking about it.

File with: Your electric, gas or water provider
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

CorrectionThis is a state protection, not a federal one. The Attorney General states that the federal SCRA does not apply to Governor-ordered state military service by members of the National Guard — which is exactly the service MCL 32.517 is written around.

Worth knowingThe two routes have different triggers. MCL 460.9c is about a fall in household income and has to be applied for. MCL 32.517 is a flat prohibition on the utility for 90 days and does not ask about income at all. Invoke whichever fits, and say which.

Known gapWe could not read either section at the statute site — legislature.mi.gov is unreadable to us. The section numbers, the 90 days and the 7-day threshold are quoted from the Attorney General’s own page. Ask a utility’s customer-protection team, or the Michigan Public Service Commission, before relying on the fine detail.

Sources

authority · published policyMichigan Attorney General, Consumer Protection — Military: Utility Shut-off Protection (MCL 460.9c; MCL 32.517)
operating · published policyMichigan Attorney General, Consumer Protection — Military (index of legal protections)

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