(AP) Utility shutoffs are going to resume after an 18-month hiatus during the pandemic.

Under Maine law, gas and electric utilities are not allowed to shut off service during the winter, between Nov. 15 and April 15. But the Maine Public Utilities Commission kept the moratorium on cutoffs in place for all of last year because of financial difficulties people were experiencing during the pandemic.

PUC Chair Philip L. Bartlett II said he expects utilities to be flexible with customers.

Central Maine Power sent letters to 65,000 customers to warn them about past due bills, but the utility hopes to work out payment plans with them, Linda Ball, CMP’s vice president of customer service, told the Sun Journal.