Winter weather is already here and Hoosiers who struggle to pay their heating bills need to take action now to ensure they aren’t left in the cold this winter. The state’s disconnect moratorium for electric and natural gas utilities starts starts December 1st. However, it is only applicable for those who are already enrolled in the Energy Assistance Program, or if an E-A-P intake office has confirmed their eligibility and notified the utility in writing. Anthony Swinger with the Indiana Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor encourages low-income households to contact a local intake office to apply for the program sooner rather than later. To qualify for the Energy Assistance Program, household income can be no more than 47-thousand dollars a year for a family of four. The disconnect moratorium ends March 15, 2020. Call 2-1-1 for more information about local utility resources. Swinger says households who are covered by the disconnect moratorium should continue to pay their heating bills, even if all they can manage is a partial payment. Besides the moratorium, the Energy Assistance Program also offers people who qualify a one-time payment to use toward their heating bills. It’s estimated that roughly 108-thousand Indiana households receive E-A-P help each year.