The cold temperatures and snow Tuesday weren't the last remnants of winter for some Cinergy Corp. customers.

        Ohio's winter moratorium on electric and gas disconnections has expired, and the utility will begin cutting off service next week for those who haven't paid or worked out a payment plan for their winter heating bills.

        Because of the colder-than-normal temperatures in November and December and fuel prices that doubled and tripled from a year ago, Cinergy expects more customers will be receiving disconnection notices.

        “I can't give you a number, but we anticipate a higher number will be eligible (for cutoff) because of the higher bills this winter,” said Dave Woodburn, spokesman for the parent company of Cincinnati Gas & Electric and Union Light Heat & Power in Northern Kentucky.

        “We try to go to great lengths to keep people on the system,” Mr. Woodburn said, noting that the company will help customers work out a repayment schedule.

        But with the cutoff moratorium over and the deadline past for emergency aid under the federally funded Home Energy Assistance Program, agencies offering heating-bill help are expecting a flood of applicants.

        Getting a disconnection notice is traumatic for many people, said Melinda Voris, director of social services for the Salvation Army in Greater Cincinnati.

        “Most people are frightened and angry,” she said. “Utility service is something you take for granted.”

        The Salvation Army administers the HeatShare program for Cinergy, distributing contributions from the utility and customers to those in need.

        Cinergy customers can be subject to disconnection if their payments fall more than $100 in arrears, Mr. Woodburn said.

        This winter, at the request of Gov. Bob Taft, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio prohibited utilities from disconnecting until March 26 any residential customers for non-payment if they enrolled in a payment plan.

        Last month, PUCO said utilities had to first send customers a 14-day notice that their service could be cut off, then a 10-day notice, then a final notice 24 hours before disconnection.

        Last year, Cinergy cut service to about 27,000 residential customers in Ohio and Kentucky. About half had their service restored within a month, Mr. Woodburn said.

        “If a customer is having a problem, we ask that they call us,” Mr. Woodburn said. Cinergy's customer service number is 421-9500 or 1-800-648-7777.

        There was no state-ordered moratorium on utility cutoffs in Kentucky, but Gov. Paul Patton ordered utilities to work out payment plans with customers behind in their bills and required they determine customers' eligibility for low-income heating assistance before cutting off service.

        As many as 3.6 million families in 18 states plus the District of Columbia are at risk of having the plug pulled in the next month or so, according to a study by the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. That figure is nearly double last year's.

        Almost 100,000 households in Kentucky owe natural gas companies $30 million, the association said.

        In the fiscal year ended last August, 115,459 Kentucky families had their utility service disconnected. Of that number, 77,594 were reinstated, according to the Kentucky Public Service Commission.

        Application deadline for Project Thaw, the Ohio program that provides a one-time payment of up to $250 to help with heating bills, has been extended until April 30, said Denise Winkler, spokesman at the Hamilton County Human Services Department.

        Through April 13, Project Thaw processed 9,976 applications in Hamilton County, representing utility payments totaling $2.1 million. The payments were less than half the $5 million allocated.

        Anyone with income that's within 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline — $34,100 for a family of four; $22,500 for a couple; and $16,700 for a single person — is eligible for Project Thaw assistance.

        Applications are available at Cinergy offices, Cincinnati Public Libraries and the county's Web site.

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