A new federal regulation meant to prevent identity theft will require local utility departments to ask customers for social security numbers.

The county has to make sure that people who apply for accounts are who they say they are, said Johnston County Attorney Mark Payne. That means asking for social security numbers.

The regulation, which grew out of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, also places the burden of protecting those social security numbers on the county.

Local governments will have to purchase software to verify social security numbers at a cost of about $14,000, or about $2.71 per customer. They will also have to train staff to protect social security numbers and take measures such as locking file cabinets and protecting computer screens.

The county expects to get an influx of social security numbers.

Officials are already concerned about identity theft, Payne said. They put measures in place to protect social security numbers after accidentally publishing some social security numbers on the county website about four years ago.

"What this act does is put another layer of requirements on top of those," Payne said.

The Johnston County Commission approved the changes Monday in a 4-3 vote. Chairman Wade Stewart opposed the change.

"I just saw no need in it," he said. "It's a hardship on our public."

Commissioners also questioned whether the regulation is meant to prevent illegal immigrants from signing up for county services.

Some "might say that this is a sort of backdoor immigration bill," Payne said.

But he called the discussion at the commission meeting "grumbling" and said, "There's no question that we're going to do exactly what we're required to do."

The regulation takes effect May 1.

About 225 people reported their identities stolen in Johnston County in 2008, according to the Johnston County Sheriff's Office. That's up from 215 in 2007.