National Grid Shuts Off Service To 24,000 Households

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — National Grid has shut off electric and gas service to more than 24,000 upstate New York households during June and July because of unpaid bills.

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that the high shutoff rate prompted state regulators to ask the utility to "maximize restraint" and get the numbers down. The utility terminated more accounts in both June and July than it has in any month for at least nine years.

Larry Frye, director of credit and collections for National Grid, tells the newspaper the utility would rather keep the lights on and does all it can to help customers resolve delinquent bills.

In late August, a 6-year-old girl died from carbon monoxide poisoning from an indoor generator in Salina after National Grid shut off service to a home.