Dive Summary:

• Duke Energy was in the news Monday for cutting off power to a 75-year old woman on an oxygen pump after sending the resident a bill for $1,400. "If there's no power, there's no breathing. There's no breathing," said Louella Johnson, a resident of Orange County Florida.
• The resident claimed her meter was broken and that the bill was too high by hundreds of dollars. Johnson, whose declining health landed her in the hospital for weeks, also said she tried working with Duke but to no avail.
• "The district manager told me that the air was my problem. Paying the bill was my problem also, and I needed to pay it. If I didn't come up with $1,400, they'd turn the power off," Johnson reported. Duke is now looking into the matter and offered an apology for the inconvenience.

From the article:

In a letter, Duke Energy said, "If there are any extenuating circumstances, please contact us," and, "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you."

Eyewitness News asked the company if a broken meter, estimated bills and a month-long hospital stay might qualify as "extenuating circumstances," especially since Johnson said she's repeatedly offered to pay what she can to get the power back on. 

A spokesman said the company is "looking into it."