For all the obvious reasons is the short answer. Most often a gas meter, electric meter or water meter can be locked out for failure to pay a monthly utility bill. In other cases a homeowner going on vacation can lock out there own utility services to ensure that no unauthorized access will occur. Either way most utilities have a lock-out function. Homeowners wishing to lock-out there own utility services should consider using the highly effective barrel lock and barel lock key combination. This is the industry standard lock and key that is most effective in locking-out various utilities. While a standard padlock will work in some cases, the barrel lock or cylinder lock is a far superior device. In addition, the key used for these locks is quite uncommon, making it even more difficult for others to access your utilities.