Behind on Your PECO Bill?
PECO serves about 1.7 million electric customers in Philadelphia and the southeastern Pennsylvania suburbs, plus natural gas to more than half a million homes in the surrounding counties. If a shutoff notice is sitting on your counter, filing bankruptcy stops it and clears the balance behind it.
Qualifying filers may be eligible for our $999 flat fee Chapter 7.
When the payment agreement isn't enough
PECO offers payment agreements and assistance programs like CAP and LIHEAP, and they help with the bills going forward. What they don't do is erase a balance that's already out of reach, especially when it's stacked on top of credit cards and medical bills. Bankruptcy stops the shutoff under Section 366 of the Bankruptcy Code and typically wipes out the old PECO balance along with the rest of your unsecured debt.
Where PECO debt piles up
- A shutoff notice after a missed payment agreement
- Winter protection ended and the balance came due
- Electric plus gas service doubling the arrears in the suburbs
- A gap in LIHEAP or CAP coverage
- Deposits and reconnection charges after a past shutoff
What bankruptcy can do
- Halt a PECO termination the day the case is filed
- Wipe out the past-due PECO balance through Chapter 7
- Spread the arrears across one affordable Chapter 13 plan
- Cover both the electric and the gas arrears in a single filing
- Clear the other debt that piled up while CAP and LIHEAP fell short
Common questions about PECO Bill Debt
I got a PECO shutoff notice. How fast can this move?
Fast. Pennsylvania utilities generally give at least 10 days' written notice before a termination, and a bankruptcy filing stops the shutoff the moment it hits the docket. If the date is close, call us now and we'll talk timing the same day.
Doesn't Pennsylvania ban winter shutoffs?
Pennsylvania's Public Utility Commission rules restrict shutoffs for many lower-income households from December 1 through March 31, and medical certifications can pause a termination too. But the balance keeps growing through the winter, and in spring the notices start again. Bankruptcy can clear the balance instead of pausing it.
Should I use CAP or LIHEAP instead of filing?
They solve different problems. PECO's assistance programs lower what you pay going forward, and they're worth using. Bankruptcy deals with the debt you already have, the PECO arrears plus everything else. Plenty of people do both.
Does PECO handle both my electric and my gas?
It depends where you live. PECO delivers electric across Philadelphia and the suburbs, and natural gas to more than half a million homes in the surrounding counties, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery. Inside Philadelphia proper the gas comes from PGW instead, not PECO, so a city household can have a PECO electric bill and a separate gas bill. When both are behind, one bankruptcy filing can deal with all of it, whether you're a city customer with PECO electric or a suburban household carrying both services. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission rules give you at least 10 days' written notice before any termination, and filing stops the shutoff before that clock runs out. If CAP or LIHEAP left a gap you can't close, the discharge is what clears the balance underneath.
Will PECO shut me off for filing bankruptcy?
No. Section 366 says a utility can't cut you off just for filing or for the old balance. The one thing PECO can do is ask for a reasonable deposit on future service, and if that number looks inflated, the bankruptcy court can bring it down. Keep the new bills current and the old arrears run through your case instead.