BOSTON, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- The Massachusetts Senate is voting on a bill that would prevent utility companies from shutting off power to customers who fall behind on payments during periods of extreme heat.

The proposal applies to the months of May through September and would take effect when temperatures reach 85 degrees or higher for five consecutive days. Customers would still owe their outstanding balances, but power could not be cut off until after the heat stretch ends. The bill was undergoing amendments as the Senate session was underway.

State Sen. Joanne Comerford, a co-sponsor of the bill, said the measure is essential to protecting residents. “It’s a public health threat. It’s negative to our...it’s a negative to our ability to maintain a healthy population,” she explained. “And we’re saying that can happen, so it’s a very simple proposition to not prevent folks who may be in arrears in their bill from losing their electric service during these very hot, sweltering days.”

The bill would apply to utility providers such as National Grid and Eversource. Legislators said cutting power during periods of extreme heat is inhumane.

ISO New England, which describes itself as the “air-traffic controller of the power grid,” said electricity supply and demand must remain balanced, meaning what is produced and placed on the grid must equal what customers draw from it. If demand exceeds supply, the organization could implement controlled power outages.

Spokesperson Matt Kakley said a controlled outage is a last resort. “That’s really an extreme action. That’s not anything we’re anticipating this week. It’s really when all other options have stopped,” he explained. “And so what we do on a day like today and really any day is we forecast what we think consumers are going to use and we schedule the right amount of resources to meet that demand.”

Kakley added ISO New England also maintains reserve resources, a buffer above projected electricity needs, to account for higher-than-expected demand or unexpected losses of generation resources.

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