Two D.C. Council members are introducing a bill that would prevent utility companies from disconnecting residents’ gas or electricity during heat waves.

Council Members Mary Cheh, D-Ward 3, and Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, announced the Heat Wave Safety Emergency Act of 2007 in part as a response to the depletion of funds used by the city to help poor residents pay their utility bills well in advance of summer.

The funds, provided to the city by the federal government, ran out in April, according to Graham and Cheh.

Cheh said preventing utility shutoff in times of extreme heat is more important than in the winter. “Heat waves are far more deadly,” she said.

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The bill would prevent utility providers from shutting off service at times when the weather forecast calls for temperatures in the 90s.

The lack of funds for utility assistance worries both council members, who thought enough money was available for subsidies for low-income residents, Graham said.

The funds come from the federal government, Cheh said. She said a long-term solution to electrical shutoffs was to have money available to those in need.

“The city is facing various challenges, but there are excess funds available,” Graham said. “We will call upon the mayor to increase the amount of funding.”

Graham said several constituents have notified him recently of electricity cutoffs.

“For some, it’s a choice between buying food and medicine or paying their energy bill,” Cheh said.

No money has been available for those living without electricity since April 21, Cheh said. “Many people have lost their electricity since that day,” she said.

Last year, an estimated 9,000 electrical shutoffs occurred in the District, Cheh said.