Letters: Sep 12/13

Letters | Sep 11, 2013

Hydro One Billing

We experience another cute but chintzy method Hydro One uses to squeeze more dollars out of its customers. Instead of reading our “Smart” meter, they use a wildly inaccurate estimate of our usage each month, which just happens to push our usage total into surcharge territory, so each month we have to pay a penalty for power we haven't used. When we phone to have this corrected, the agent always seems very put out that we have the temerity to complain, and the next month they do it again. For 30 years, we have tried to give Hydro our monthly meter reading, by mail or phone, only to have it refused with excuses, from which we can only infer that they don't trust us.

Our smart meter was replaced some months ago. When I asked the installer what was the matter with it, he replied: "Probably nothing, but they've had trouble getting info by satellite from some in Belleville, so they're replacing them all." When I pointed out that we were told our meter wouldn't be able to be read by satellite anyway, he just shrugged and smiled. When I asked him why all the smart meters were Americanized versions, he shrugged again.

Glen Pearce