Writer feels powerless in the face of gross overcharges
To the Expositor:
Get ready for another winter of Hydro One gouging our bank accounts. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am perplexed that Manitoulin Island is sending power into the grid via windmills, which mostly feed southern Ontario, while Islanders pay exorbitant delivery charges. It should be the other way around! Hydro should be paying us for all the power we generate.
My friends in Toronto aren’t charged for delivery and their bills are lower than ours. They also don’t suffer day long planned power outages. We’re being ripped off, folks. I spoke with a Hydro One official today who admitted that my residential bill is “strangely high” considering the house in question had nobody living in it at the time. But when asked if Hydro One would do anything to fix this issue, she said she was “sorry it’s your (meaning my) problem,” and suggested I hire a “hydro auditor” (whatever that is, and whatever it is I’m sure I can’t afford it). She also said that their “smart meters never make mistakes.” Pardon me? I asked her if she heard all the news items last spring about Hydro One’s smart meters screwing up and she repeated that their meters “never” make mistakes. Ah, okay. Meanwhile Hydro One continues to pay some of the highest executive wages in Canada, with their CEO alone getting nearly a million last year plus expenses. You can guarantee she doesn’t pay delivery charges, either.
Manitoba, Quebec and BC hydro rates are half or less than half of Ontario rates. And have you seen the little item on the bottom of your bill that says you’re helping Hydro One pay back a debt for its lousy financial management in the past? It’s called their Debt Retirement Charge. Wait a minute! Shouldn’t they be helping us pay off the debt we incur with our gigantic hydro bills? Oh, speaking of debt—Hydro One may neglect to bill you all winter and then hit you with a huge bill in the spring. I can’t wait, can you? They did that to me last year and it went something like this: Surprise! You owe us thousands of dollars! They take months to send a bill, but if you’re late on a payment their threat to cut off your power arrives right on time. We should have our own Manitoulin Hydro Corporation the way Sudbury does. It would be a step toward being more in control. With Hydro One we’re not just grossly overcharged. We’re powerless.
Beth Richards Little Current
