With area homes encased in banks of snow and ice, struggling Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers are worried about how much they'll owe on their next heating bills.

BGE provides power to 88,600 natural gas and 221,500 electricity customers in Anne Arundel County.

But Erica Matthews, director of the county Community Action Agency's energy-assistance office, said the back-to-back February blizzards, in an odd twist, bought program officials extra time to help strapped families.

For several days treacherous road conditions made it harder for the utility company to dispatch technicians to shut off power,...