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Why was Hydro bill so high?

Smart meters resulting in higher monthly payments to monopoly

Dear editor,

We chose to keep our old BC Hydro meter for two reasons:

1.  Questionable safety of the smart meter;

2. All the owners of smart meters we spoke to reported significant hikes in their electrical bills. Same lifestyle, same consumption, higher bills.

Now it appears that big bully Hydro is going to punish us for keeping our old meters by “estimating” our costs.

End of May, we received a bill that seemed high considering that we had been away for five of the roughly eight weeks of the billing period. The bill was close to that of the same billing period, last year while we were in residence for the entire time.

While we were away, we had unplugged every and all appliances drawing Hydro power except two fridges and freezers.

We called Hydro and suggested we couldn’t possibly owe that much, having been away a good portion of the billing period. A person at the call centre stated that she would correct this error.

Lo and behold,  one week later, we receive the exact bill as before.

It’s really unfortunate that Hydro has the monopoly over this very essential service, as they can abuse us with impunity. I feel trapped.

We resent and despise Hydro’s high-handed, rigid, and arrogant behaviour.

Where are the big corporations that build loyalty through respect, fairness, and good business practices?

Laurance Stratton,

Courtenay