CHARLOTTE (AP) ó A North Carolina utility has increased the number of shut-offs of natural gas service for customers who canít pay in the cold weather, a newspaper reported Monday.
Piedmont Natural Gas shut-offs from November through February have surged in the Charlotte area by 86 percent, compared to the same period in 2007, The Charlotte Observer said.
Company officials say they think the increase has come because of the economy, and because of company policy changes that delayed some cut-offs until last fall.
State officials said the utility has done nothing wrong.
Piedmont vice president June Moore says the company hates to terminate service, but it is sometimes necessary.
The newspaper said other utilities had a drop in service disconnects in the same period. Duke Energyís shut-off rate fell 7 percent and PSNC Energy dropped 43 percent.
ěWe are very concerned for our customers,î Moore said. ěWe hate to do (shut-offs) but sometimes it becomes necessary.î
Several customers told the newspaper that the gas bill was the last one they paid.
ěThis month Iím struggling,î said Kiesha Lastrapes, who is unemployed and lives with her 8-year-old daughter in east Charlotte. ěIíll pay the rent first because I worry about my daughter.î
She said she pays her electric bill after rent because she can use an electric heater to keep warm if necessary.
Lastrapes said she recently avoided a shut-off by getting help from the Crisis Assistance Ministry, a group that helps with emergency financial assistance for people facing eviction or utility shut-offs.
ěPeople will use their stove or kerosene for heat. Itís not what we like to hear but thatís the reality,î said Doug Hartjes, the ministryís development officer ěPeople are making these very, very difficult choices on a daily basis.î
Piedmont spokeswoman Loree Elswick said her company stationed a customer service representative at the ministry last year because of the problem. That worker helped about 1,150 people in November and December, she said.
ěCertainly we recognize in this economy, people have new pressures, and people are struggling to pay their bills,î Elswick said. ěThe biggest thing we need to do is get the message out: Call us before service is disconnected.î