Case Summary:
After the chapter 13 debtor fell behind in payments to the company that provided her electric services, the utility moved to dismiss the debtor’s case or, alternatively, for a declaratory ruling that it did not need relief from the automatic stay to terminate service.  The court denied the motion to dismiss, but granted the motion for an order that the automatic stay did not prevent disconnection of utility service.  Under 11 U.S.C. § 366(a), a utility must continue to provide service to a trustee or debtor after the petition date even where the debtor owes a significant pre-petition debt to the utility.  This obligation to provide post-petition services unwillingly continues for only 20 days after the petition date.  Thereafter, a utility may disconnect service if the debtor does not provide adequate assurance of payment.  11 U.S.C. § 366(b).  The court rejected the debtor’s argument that the utility was prohibited from disconnecting service because it had not requested adequate assurance of payment under § 366(b) in the 20 days after the petition date.  If the debtor wanted to prevent termination of service, it was incumbent on the debtor to inquire regarding the assurance of payment necessary to prevent disconnection of services.  The utility’s obligation to provide service without adequate assurance of payment expired on the 21st day after the petition date.