Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule runs from October 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, and for those seven months a utility may not disconnect a residential customer when the shutoff would cut the home’s primary heating source. Xcel Energy announced the rule’s start on September 29, and the protection comes with conditions: a customer who receives a disconnection notice has to contact the utility immediately and set up a payment plan. For income-eligible households, the plan’s monthly payments cannot exceed 10 percent of household income.
What the rule bars, and for whom
Xcel’s Cold Weather Rule announcement says residential customers are protected from service disconnection if it would affect their primary heating source. Minnesota Power describes the same group more narrowly on its rule page: residential, heat-affected customers who are unable to pay their bills between October 1 and April 30. FOX 9, in its pre-October 1 explainer, put the effect plainly: energy companies cannot disconnect service during the winter months because of a customer’s inability to pay.
The Xcel announcement does not describe a blanket ban. The bar attaches to a disconnection that would affect the primary heat, and the payment-plan terms attach to customers who ask for them. The company serves eight states, but the Cold Weather Rule is Minnesota’s, and the dates above apply to Minnesota customers only.
The 10 percent cap and two different income lines
The cap is a ceiling on a payment plan, not a bill discount. Xcel says income-eligible customers can establish plans with monthly payments not to exceed 10 percent of household income, and it does not publish the income threshold in the announcement. Minnesota Power’s page sets the line at or below 50 percent of state median income, with the 10 percent cap applying at or below that level; a customer above it may still establish a payment plan with the utility.
The Minnesota Energy Resources page is less consistent with itself. It cites 50 percent of state median income in one place and ties the reduced payment plan to customers below 60 percent of state median income in another. The same page states that those who meet the income requirement are not required to pay more than 10 percent of their household income each month. A household reading two utilities’ pages can come away with two different numbers, so the threshold that applies is the one the household’s own utility confirms.
Missed payments end the protection, and an appeal keeps the heat on
Protection depends on keeping the agreement. Minnesota Energy Resources says a customer in a Cold Weather Rule plan must continue making the required monthly payments to maintain protection from disconnection. Minnesota Power is more specific about the consequence: service “will be subject to disconnection without further notice” if the agreed payments are not made, and a customer who cannot keep the original agreement has to call immediately to set up a new plan.
When a customer and the utility cannot agree on a plan, Minnesota Power’s page gives the customer 10 days to appeal to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, and says service stays on during the appeal.
The LIHEAP link to the reduced plan
Energy assistance and the Cold Weather Rule connect directly. Minnesota Energy Resources says a customer eligible for the state’s low-income energy assistance program is also eligible for a reduced Cold Weather Rule payment plan. FOX 9 reports that more than 600,000 Minnesota families are income-eligible for energy assistance, about one in four households. In a September 23 letter asking the administration to release roughly $4 billion in federal LIHEAP funds, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith say in their announcement says more than 100,000 Minnesota households relied on the program last winter.
Who to call in each service area
The numbers sit on the utilities’ own pages. Xcel customers reach customer care at 1-800-895-4999. Minnesota Power takes Cold Weather Rule applications at 218-722-2625 or 800-228-4966, and Minnesota Energy Resources at 800-889-9508. For help beyond the payment plan, Minnesota Power’s page lists the Energy Assistance hotline at 800-657-3710, United Way First Call at 211 and Salvation Army HeatShare.
Randy Cantu, senior director of contact center operations at Xcel Energy, said in the company’s announcement: “Our team can help identify assistance options, establish payment plans and provide resources designed to help them manage their energy bills.”
The heating-aid program that feeds the reduced plan
Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule protects primary heat through April 30 for customers who contact their utility, and a household that qualifies for the state’s low-income energy assistance program is also eligible for the reduced payment plan. Minnesota Energy Resources states that link on its Cold Weather Rule page.
The Benefits Checklist covers LIHEAP among its eleven benefit programs, with the 2026 income limits and a 50-state phone directory for reaching the agencies that handle it.
See the LIHEAP income limits behind Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule plan →
This piece was drafted with AI assistance; the dates, thresholds and phone numbers were checked against the Xcel Energy, Minnesota Power and Minnesota Energy Resources pages.
