How to dispute an electric bill

Before you call

Disputes go wrong when the number was never checked. Start with arithmetic. Compare the kWh on the bill with the same month last year, multiply kWh by each price line and add the flat charges; our bill line guide and how to read your bill show how. Look at whether the read was actual or estimated. In the EIA-861 2024 file, 84% of the 147,612,180 home meters reported are advanced (AMI) meters, so most home meters in the file can record use in short intervals. If a bill rests on an estimate, ask for an actual read.

Gather the last three bills, the account number and the dates and names of earlier calls. This is our suggestion, not a rule from a commission. Ask the utility in writing for the meter read dates and the rate on each line, and keep its answer.

Step 1: the utility

Start with the utility. Rules for what a utility must do while you dispute differ by state. Two examples from rule text we read: in Illinois, rule 280.230 says the customer may file an informal complaint, the utility must answer within 14 days and may not disconnect over the disputed amount during an informal or formal complaint, with safety exceptions. In Massachusetts, 220 CMR 25.03 says a customer may dispute a company's denial of protection by contacting the Department within 7 days, and the company may not terminate pending resolution.

Those are two states. We do not claim your state has the same rule. Check the row for your state in the table below and in our shutoff rules guide. Also note the shutoff notice: Texas requires a disconnection date at least 10 days after issue, Ohio at least 14 days, Alaska at least 15 days, and Florida at least 5 working days of written notice. A dispute does not by itself stop a shutoff in every state, so ask what your state's rule says on the same call.

Step 2: the commission

If the utility's answer does not settle it, the commission is next. Of the 51 places, 48 had a complaint statement in the rule text we read, and the places without one in our files are Maryland, Michigan, New York: that means we read no statement, not that none exists. The table gives each commission's phone and complaint page. A page marked 'not confirmed' may still exist; our check could not load it.

Source: state commission websites, checked 2026-10-02; where a phone was not confirmed on the commission site it comes from the HHS LIHEAP Clearinghouse disconnect page and is marked. "not confirmed" means the complaint page did not answer our check or we found none. CSV, 51 rows, with the URLs and check status.

We confirmed 38 phone numbers (3 of them from an archived copy of the commission's page, because the live site blocked our check), and 12 come from the LIHEAP list. Check the number on the commission's site before you rely on it.

What the rule text says, by state

These summaries are from the shutoff rules we read for each state. They are about complaint rights stated inside disconnection rules, not the full complaint procedure of the commission.

Source: Rule text read 2026-10-02, each state's source in the shutoff guide; eight of 48 states with a complaint statement shown, all in the CSV with the source URL. Summaries are ours; read the rule for the exact words. Retrieved 2026-10-02. CSV, 48 rows.

Texas's rule requires the disconnection notice to name the Public Utility Commission of Texas with its address and phone. Florida's rule requires the notice to say you may complain to the utility and to the Florida PSC, with the toll-free number. Ohio's requires the notice to give the PUCO number. If your notice names a number, that is the place to start.

Munis and co-ops

A commission's reach over city-owned and member-owned utilities can be narrower than over investor-owned ones. In South Dakota the PUC says it has no ratemaking authority over co-ops or municipal utilities (see how rate cases work). That is about rates, not complaints, and we did not read each state's rule on complaint jurisdiction. Call the commission and ask, or ask the utility's board. We have no data on which states take complaints about which utility types.

If the dispute is about being behind

A billing dispute and a hardship problem are different. If the bill is right and you cannot pay, see the help paying your bill pages and the shutoff notice checklist. Your state page lists assistance programs and the commission.

What this guide does not cover

It does not cover tariff rules for meter testing, back-billing limits, deposits, late fees or refunds, because we have no data from the files we read. It is not legal advice. For a billing error with a large amount, ask the commission what your options are.

Key facts and where they come from

CSV, 13 rows.

Keep reading

• Electric shutoff rules and winter protections
• How to read your electric bill
• Electric bill line by line
• Help paying your bill, state by state
• State utility commissions and rate cases
• Glossary