ZELIENOPLE — The borough will revise its electric regulations ordinance, including a change in its shut-off policy.

Under its current policy, customers can have their power shut off after being delinquent on their bill for 90 days, excluding in the winter.

The proposed change would reduce that to 60 days. It also would shorten the no-shutoff period to Dec. 1 to March 1. Currently it extends to April.

Borough council expects to pass the ordinance for it to take effect this March, said council member Ralph Geis, who chairs the electric committee.

A number of customers routinely are delinquent paying their electric bills, said Andrew Spencer, assistant to the borough manager.

The borough estimates about 90 customers a month are past the 90-day mark, though they often pay the bill when getting a final shut-off notice and before service is cut off.

“There are customers who are consistently on the 90-day delinquency. It’s amazing when faced with a shut-off how quickly they find the money,” Spencer said.

When customers are almost three months behind on their bills, the borough has to cover the extra cost, which means customers who pay on time are essentially subsidizing those who don’t, he said.

The 60-day period will still give some cushion to people who may have just forgotten to pay the bill, but will help discourage “abusers,” he said.

Customers who do have electric service shut off must pay the owed amount as well as a $35 reactivation fee.

The borough has about 2,200 electric customers, both residential and commercial.

If approved, the policy changes would apply to everyone.

Zelienople buys its electricity from American Municipal Power, a nonprofit wholesaler based in Columbus, Ohio.