🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello, I was trying to find the appropriate NGs to post this
so please excuse me if the cross posting is inappropriate.

I am attaching a letter  we sent to Hydro One (by e-mail
and postal mail) regarding a dispute we have
with the electricity usage from December to February.

They put in a new meter on Feb. 8 and took out
the old meter. They said they would try and find
the old meter but cannot be sure.

To make a long story short, do people know if there is a
regulating commission or authority where we can file a complaint
in case the dispute cannot be resolved? We moved to Canada a few
years ago and are still not familiar with things around here
so thank you in advance for any suggestions and help.

Cheers,
Bernard

-------
March 14, 2002

Hydro One
P.O. Box 5700
Station Industrial Park
Markham, ON L3R 9Z9

Dear Sirs and Madams:

We received our Hydro One bill (account number xxxxx-xxxxx)
dated March 8, 2002 yesterday. We want to register a dispute
on the accuracy of the meter reading (meter number yyyyyyy)
done on February 8, 2002.

Your record shows that we had used 2440 kilowatt-hours
between December 6, 2001 and February 8, 2002.
We looked back on the bills from the same period last year
and they showed that we used 2200 kilowatt-hours between
December 18, 2000 and March 12, 2001. It is apparent that
a large discrepancy exists between the 784.5 kilowatt-hours
per month (prorated to be monthly basis) from last year
and the 1182.5 kilowatt-hours per month (prorated to be
monthly basis) from this year.

Furthermore, we were out of town for one whole month
during this period as well. We left Kingston on December 7, 2001
in the afternoon and returned on January 9, 2002 in the morning.
We turned the baseboard heaters to "0" and turned off all the
appliances except the refrigerator, water heater and the
answering machine.

We talked to Kaseeb from your customer service center yesterday
and he explained that the baseboard heaters have internal thermostats
and are not completely off unless we turn them off at the circuit box.

We are not sure if this is indeed true regarding the baseboard
heaters we have. Even if it is, that does not explain why
more electricity was used this winter than last winter as
the same baseboard heaters are in place. Also, it would not be
logical that the baseboard heaters are using more electricity
when they are set to "0" (when we were away) than when they are
set to "15" (when we are at home). 

Also, since we were not using any hot water, or doing any laundry,
or opening the refrigerator when we were away, less electricity
should be used as well. In addition, we have installed plastic film
over the air conditioning units this season and that should not hurt
the efficiency of the baseboard heaters.

Your reading of the new meter (zzzzzzz) indicated that we had used
960 kilowatt-hours between February 8 and March 8, 2002. By all accounts,
this past month is just as cold as, if not colder than, the previous
two months and the electricity usage between February 8 and March 8, 2002
should be indicative of that between December 6, 2001 and February 8, 2002.
Keep in mind that we were out of town for one whole month during this period.

We would appreciate if you could advise us of the options we have
regarding the dispute. Also, we would be grateful if you could launch an
investigation and let us know what would cause such a discrepancy,
including the possibility that the old meter (yyyyyyy) could have been
malfunctioning or was misread.

Please feel free to contact us should you require any additional information.
Thank you for your time and kind assistance.

Sincerely,
(signed)