For the City Times

Wisconsin Public Service ends their winter moratorium on power bills this Friday and they’re getting the message out that it’s not difficult to make arrangements and keep your power on.

Because of Wisconsin’s winter weather, state law dictates that from November 1st to April 15, no energy company can shut off power or heat to a home, even if they’re behind on their bill. WPS Community Relations Leader Kelly Zagrzebski says customers who are still behind on their payments can avoid disconnection if they act quickly.

“They should have been working with our representatives throughout the winter, but if something came up and they weren’t able to do that, they really need to start giving us a call and start working with us to help ensure that they don’t become disconnected after April 15,” Zagrzebski said.

WPS has received many reports of scams around this time every year claiming to shut off power unless an immediate payment is made through sources that Zagrzebski says WPS will never ask for.

“We do not take pre-paid credit cards,” she said. “We will not say something like, ‘Go to a big box store, get a certain credit card, and call us back in 45 minutes’.”

The spring weather has been inconsistent in the last few weeks. If bad weather continues, Zagrzebski said it does not stop WPS from pulling the plug if you’re not caught up on payments.

“We do watch the weather and we do stay on top of that,” she said. “I don’t want to give the false expectation that if it happens to snow on April 16 that we’re not going to move forward with disconnections, but we definitely keep that factor in mind.”

The forecast for April 15 and beyond does not show any snow or frigid temperatures.