GREENVILLE, S.C. - The case of an 89-year-old woman who died earlier this month in her home after her power was cut off illustrates how South Carolina falls short on utility disconnection policies, The Greenville News reported Thursday.

In South Carolina, utilities are bound by law to provide heat during the winter only when a customer can prove that a disability presents a dangerous health threat to a member of the household if service was cut.

There are no regulations protecting those who simply cannot pay or the children who live in those homes.

There is no statewide standard that utilities must follow spelling out how a customer can address a delinquent bill to stave off disconnection in the winter.

The temperatures at which South Carolina utilities say they won't cut service during the coldest months of the year vary greatly and can leave homes without heat even when temperatures drop into the teens.

"We've got to do something," said state Sen. Ralph Anderson, D-Greenville, who, along with Republican state senators Verne Smith of Greer and David Thomas of Fountain Inn, have pledged to introduce legislation.

Greenville resident Elizabeth Verdin died Dec. 11 from hypothermia. Her power was shut off Dec. 6 for nonpayment.

Following Verdin's death, Duke Power suspended disconnecting power to any of its 2 million customers until it finishes reviewing its winter disconnection policies, said company spokesman Tim Pettit.

Other utilities are following Duke's lead. Piedmont Natural Gas will review its winter disconnection policies, said spokesman David Trusty, though he said Piedmont has no plans to suspend service cutoffs.

A number of states have laws that spell out when heat providers can cut electricity and gas for nonpayment in the winter.

Georgia requires electric and gas utilities offer customers a reasonable monthly payment plan between November 15 and March 15, said Bill Edge, a spokesman for the Georgia Public Service Commission.

Customers who accept and abide by a payment plan that pays off the outstanding bill by the following October cannot have their power cut off, Edge said.

Illinois caps the percentage of the overdue bill customers must pay up front during its moratorium between Dec. 1 and March 31.

In both Georgia and Illinois, a customer must be offered a deferred-payment plan during the winter regardless of past history.

The only South Carolina law banning winter cutoffs between Nov. 1 and April 15 requires customers demonstrate they can't pay and a physician's written statement that cutting service would pose a "dangerous" health threat, said April Sharpe, manager of consumer affairs for the Office of Regulatory Staff.

In South Carolina, there is wide disparity in how cold it must be before a heat provider decides it won't cut service.

Duke's policy is to not cut power to any customer if the day's average temperature is forecast to drop to 32 degrees or below, Pettit said.

The average temperature takes into account the entire day, so that even if temperatures dip into the 20s, the average temperature might not drop to the freezing point. So far in the month of December, two days Dec. 14 and 20 have met Duke's standard, according to the National Weather Service.

Lows have dropped below 32 degrees on 12 days, however. On Dec. 11, the day Verdin died, the low reached 36 though the average for the day was 45, Weather Service records show.

Pettit said the temperature threshold is one of the policy aspects the company will consider changing, along with the lengths it goes to contact customers before cutting power.

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Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com/