Del. Senate rejects utility shutoff changes

DOVER, Del. — Delaware's Senate has rejected proposed revisions to a law protecting utility customers with medical needs from having their power disconnected.

Supporters of a bill that narrowly failed Tuesday said the current law is so broad that many Delmarva Power customers are using it to avoid paying their bills. They noted that some 930 Delmarva Power customers enrolled in the Delaware program owe an outstanding balance of $3.6 million, far more than what is owed by customers in similar programs in neighboring states.

The bill would have protected utility customers who use life-support equipment or who would die or require hospitalization or institutionalization if the power were shut off.

But customers who claimed only that a power shutoff would adversely affect their health or recovery would no longer be covered.