Medical Certificate to Stop a Utility Shut-Off
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission publishes guidance and a standard form that customers and medical professionals can use when a medical condition in the household is a reason to keep a utility from shutting off service, or to get service turned back on.
The Medical Certificate Guidance provides information for customers and medical professionals regarding submitting medical certificates to public utilities to avoid termination of service or to restore service. The Standard Medical Certificate Form may be used as a tool to help simplify the medical certificate process for customers, medical professionals and public utilities. Both documents can be downloaded from the Commission's utility assistance page at puc.pa.gov, and both are also published in Spanish as the Guia de Certificados Medicos and the Formulario de Certificado Medico.
A medical certificate is submitted to your public utility, not to the Commission. Check your bill for the name of your electric, natural gas and water utility. The page does not say who qualifies, which medical conditions count, who must complete or sign the certificate, how long service is protected, or whether anything is charged.
If you have received a termination notice, contact the PUC's Bureau of Consumer Services by phone at 1-800-692-7380 rather than filing an informal complaint online. The same number, 1-800-692-7380, is the Commission's customer hotline for utility questions and complaints. The Commission's general mail address is Public Utility Commission, 400 North Street, Keystone Bldg., Harrisburg, PA 17120. Office hours are not listed.
The same Commission page lists utility assistance phone numbers you can call about your own account, including Met-Ed at (800) 545-7741, PPL Electric Utilities at (800) 342-5775, UGI Utilities at (800) 844-9276 and PECO Energy at (800) 774-7040. It also describes separate bill-payment programs such as CAP, CARES, LIURP and hardship funds, which have their own income limits that do not apply to a medical certificate.
Source: puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/consumer-education/utility-assis…, read September 18, 2026.
The details
In Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s words
The Medical Certificate Guidance provides information for customers and medical professionals regarding submitting medical certificates to public utilities to avoid termination of service or to restore service. Download Medical Certificate Guidance Standard Medical Certificate Form The Standard Medical Certificate Form may be used as a tool to help simplify the medical certificate process for customers, medical professionals, and public utilities.
Organization
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
About this listing
This listing summarizes publicly available information from puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/consumer-education/utility-assis…. Last recorded review: September 18, 2026. Contact the provider to confirm eligibility, hours and availability before you go. If something here is wrong, tell us.