Whether your power can be shut off in extreme heat or cold in Michigan
If you live in Michigan and wonder whether your power can be shut off in extreme heat or cold, a new statewide order gives a clear answer. On Thursday, July 16, 2026, the Michigan Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates electric and gas utility rates and rules, directed every regulated electric and gas utility to pause shutoffs once weather crosses 2 exact limits. Cold weather protection starts at 20 degrees Fahrenheit or a wind chill of zero, whichever comes first. Heat protection starts at 90 degrees Fahrenheit or a National Weather Service extreme heat advisory, whichever comes first. Utilities must also pause a shutoff for 24 hours before and after a forecast extreme weather event.
What changed from before
Before this order, protection during extreme weather depended on which utility served a customer. DTE Energy alone ran a voluntary policy, pausing shutoffs at 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above, 15 degrees Fahrenheit or below, or a wind chill below zero for 2 consecutive days. Comparing DTE prior 15 degree cold limit with the new mandatory statewide limit of 20 degrees shows the new rule is 5 degrees more protective on cold weather than DTE alone previously chose to be, a comparison this site made from the 2 numbers, not stated directly by either source. The heat trigger did not change. DTE prior voluntary 90 degree limit is now mandatory for every regulated utility in the state, not 1 company decision.
DTE prior voluntary thresholds are from source 3, dated January 2026, before the new statewide order took effect.
Show the numbers
| DTE prior cold threshold | 15 |
| New statewide cold threshold | 20 |
| DTE prior heat threshold | 90 |
| New statewide heat threshold | 90 |
Who is not fully covered
Gas utilities are exempted from the new heat trigger from May 1 through August 31, since gas service generally does not cool a home. That timing means an electric customer gains both the new heat and cold protection, while a gas customer keeps only the new cold weather protection. This reading follows from combining the gas exemption window with the order overall dual trigger structure, not a sentence either source states directly.
How many households this could protect
Michigan utilities disconnected 427,162 households for nonpayment in 2024, according to the Energy Equity Project, a research group that tracks state level shutoff data. That total splits into 375,511 electric disconnections, an 8.3% annual rate, and 51,651 gas disconnections, a 1.5% annual rate. Michigan ranks 16th nationally on electric shutoff rate, below the 9.4% national average the same group reports. About 16% of the 2024 electric shutoffs stayed disconnected through the end of that year, meaning the household never got service restored before 2025.
Michigan is experiencing more frequent severe storms, more extreme heat, more poor air quality and more dangerous cold events than in the past.
Katherine Peretick, member, Michigan Public Service Commission. Source 2.
The federal Energy Information Administration counted 13,400,000 residential electric disconnections and 1,700,000 natural gas disconnections nationally in 2024. Michigan own count is a small share of that national total, but it is the scale of household the new rule is meant to reach once utilities file their updated policies this fall.
National totals are source 5, the federal Energy Information Administration. Michigan totals are source 4, the Energy Equity Project.
Show the numbers
| Michigan electric disconnections | 375,511 |
| Michigan gas disconnections | 51,651 |
| National electric disconnections | 13,400,000 |
| National gas disconnections | 1,700,000 |
No family should lose essential utility service because a forecast missed a threshold by a degree or because their disconnection occurred shortly before an extreme weather event.
Michael Larson, interim executive director, Citizens Utility Board of Michigan. Source 2.
The order itself took effect July 16, 2026, but utilities must file updated extreme weather policies with the Commission by October 15, 2026, and the Commission still has to approve each one. That means the exact policy a Michigan customer lives under this winter is not final until after that October review. Until then, the statewide dual trigger the Commission adopted, 20 degrees Fahrenheit or zero wind chill for cold, 90 degrees Fahrenheit or a National Weather Service extreme heat advisory for heat, is the standard every regulated utility must meet.