by KYW's David Madden
Peco Energy has cut off service to thousands of customers in arrears on their electric bills. The cutoffs are happening earlier, and there’s a new approach.
The past practice of going after those with the largest debts first has been scrapped, in part, to help those in financial trouble early. At least, that’s Peco’s spin.
Spokeswoman Kathy Engle says some in need of help just wouldn’t seek it out:
"There were people that were struggling and weren’t aware of the assistance that was available to them and, as the summer months continued, their back balances only got bigger."
So now after two warning letters, two phone calls, you’re on the cutoff list.
31,000 through May, but almost 20,000 of them are back thanks, in large part, to those assistance programs.
Community Legal Services, on the other hand, sees the 11,000 still off line and wonders how they’ll cope when winter comes along.
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