On Thursday, Oct. 22, the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin voted 2-1 to extend the shut-off moratorium of water utilities until April. Last month, the PSC voted to extend utility shut-off moratorium until November 1, 2020. Starting on November 1, 2020, the annual winter moratorium for gas and electric customers will go into effect. The annual winter moratorium runs until April 15, 2021.

The latest action by the PSC ensures that there will be no shutoffs of water utilities as well in the winter months. PSC Commission Rebecca Valcq pointed to the increasing COVID-19 numbers as a reason to extend the shut-off through the winter and into spring.

All utilities, including gas, electric and water will need to submit to the PSC plans detailing how they will handle delinquent bills by Jan. 15. Utilities also must submit disconnection plans to the commission by February.

The moratorium was originally implemented by Gov. Evers in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and high unemployment rates and originally applied to all customer classes, including commercial and industrial. The PSC Commission extended it on a short-term basis since March.