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The Patriot Plan — No Gas or Electric Disconnection While Deployed, and Deployment-Length Time to Catch Up

Ohio’s natural gas and electric utilities may not disconnect the residential service of a military reservist or National Guardsman deployed on active duty for nonpayment. On return, the company must offer a period equal to the length of the deployment to pay off whatever built up, and may charge no late fee and no interest across either period. The regulator says in terms that it does not apply to career active-duty personnel serving their regular tour.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: No disconnection while deployed, time equal to the deployment to clear arrears, and no late fees or interest across either

The regulator states: "Under the plan, Ohio’s natural gas and electric utilities cannot disconnect the residential utility service of any military reservist or National Guardsman deployed on active duty for nonpayment."
The regulator states: "Upon return from active duty, utility companies must offer customers a period of time equal to the length of their deployment to pay any arrearages that may have accumulated. Additional time may be requested by a customer if the amount in arrearages presents a hardship."
The regulator states: "Utility companies are also prohibited from charging any late payment fees or interest to qualifying customers during the period of deployment or the repayment period."
The regulator states: "The Patriot Plan does not apply to career active-duty military personnel serving their regular tour of duty".
The consumers’ counsel describes the same plan more broadly, as preventing disconnection of "Ohioans deployed on active duty" without naming a component. Where the two state bodies differ, the regulator names reservists and National Guardsmen and the consumers’ counsel does not narrow it — so this record does not filter on component, and the difference is flagged in the notes.
The protection is on the account, not on a payment, so there is no dollar figure to publish. What it is worth is the disconnection and reconnection you avoid and the fees and interest you are not charged.

Who is entitled to it

Deployment on active duty is what the plan turns on. Read the notes on which components the regulator names.
You are an Ohio utility customer, which is what the plan reaches.
Your home is in Ohio.

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

1Ring the utility’s customer service number before you go. The consumers’ counsel says to ask about any documentation that may need to be provided prior to active-duty deployment.
2Say the words "Patriot Plan". It is the name the protection is filed under, and a front-line agent who does not recognise a general description may recognise that.
3Ask for both halves. The no-disconnection half runs during the deployment; the repayment half runs after it, and is time equal to the length of the deployment.
4Check the bill for late fees and interest when you get back. They are not chargeable to a qualifying customer during either the deployment or the repayment period.
5Ask for longer if the balance is unmanageable. The regulator says additional time may be requested if the amount in arrearages presents a hardship.
6If you are a career member on a regular tour, do not build a plan around this one. The regulator excludes that case in terms, and the consumers’ counsel says the same.
7If the utility will not apply it, take it to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, on (800) 686-7826.
8If money is the underlying problem and not just timing, ask the same call about the percentage of income payment plan and the winter and summer crisis programmes.

Form: None published — a call to the utility
File with: Your electric or natural gas company
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

CorrectionThis is not a discount and it is not means-tested. It is a timing and fees protection on a utility account, and a household well above any income limit is inside it.

CorrectionThe name oversells the reach. The regulator’s own wording is "any military reservist or National Guardsman deployed on active duty", and it says the plan does not apply to career active-duty personnel serving their regular tour of duty. This is a Guard and reserve protection in substance, aimed at the person called away from a civilian life.

Worth knowingTwo state bodies word it differently. The regulator names reservists and National Guardsmen; the consumers’ counsel says "Ohioans deployed on active duty" without naming a component. Both exclude the career member on a regular tour, so that exclusion is safe to rely on — the breadth above it is not, and this record does not filter on component for that reason.

Worth knowingThe repayment half is claimed after you come home. A member who has already returned from a deployment should still ring the utility about the arrears that built up while away, and can ask for longer than the deployment if the balance presents a hardship.

Known gapNeither the regulator’s page nor the fact sheets cite the Revised Code section or the commission rule that creates the plan, so the rule behind it is not verified. The regulator describes it as covering natural gas and electric utilities and residential utility service; water and telephone service are not described as covered.

Sources

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