Elkton council adopts new utility‑disconnection rules with added consumer protections

Elkton Town Council voted unanimously on Nov. 18 to adopt second‑reading revisions to the Town Code governing electric, water and sewer disconnections for nonpayment. Council Member Louis Heidel moved adoption; Council Member Aaron Napotnik seconded and the motion carried 6‑0.

The adopted amendments prohibit residential service disconnections for nonpayment until a customer's account is forty‑five (45) days in arrears. After each missed payment the utility must provide notice, make contact with the customer, and offer bill‑payment assistance or a payment plan. The ordinance text states, "It is the policy of the town to discontinue electric service to customers by reason of nonpayment of bill only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills." The code also bars residential disconnections if the National Weather Service forecasts a local temperature of 92°F or higher within 24 hours of a scheduled disconnection, and it forbids disconnections on Fridays, weekends, state holidays, and the day immediately preceding a state holiday.

Procedures for disputing bills are formalized: customers may request a hearing with the Town Treasurer during business hours and appeal the Treasurer's determination to the Mayor. The Treasurer's Office must provide the disconnection policy to new residential accounts, include a copy with cutoff notices, and publish the policy on the Town website in English and Spanish. Council members characterized the changes as consumer‑protection measures intended to reduce the number of abrupt shutoffs and to create clearer avenues for customers to resolve billing disputes.