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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-01-25, Page 44 Signal Star • Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Tensions high at Hydro One meeting in Walkerton Dave Flaherty Hanover Post The welcome received by executives of HydroOne was on par with the cold weather on Jan. 12, 2017 in Walkerton at a public meeting hosted by Huron -Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson. The meeting, held at the Walkerton Agricultural Soci- ety building was to give resi- dents a forum to ask ques- tions and raise concerns regarding the province's electricity distributor. Thompson was joined by Hydro One ombudsman, Fiona Crean, vice-president of customer service Warren Lister and Spencer Gill, coordinator of consumer services. Lister said the meeting was about "getting to the grassroots of what this com- pany is about." "Our customers are our foundation," he said. He admitted that deci- sions made by the company in the past "were not help- ful" and there is a desire to change the Hydro One's. culture. "We are currently revisit- ing all our policies," Lister said. "A number of these things we are doing are not customer friendly." Lister said that now that Hydro One is a publicly - traded company it gives them "some authority to make our own decisions." He told the room full of area residents the company is "going to change how we do business." He said they are in the midst of developing an e-mail billing system and may open up some of their field offices to "make it Dave Flaherty/Postmedia Warren Lister, vice-president of customers services with Hydro One, speaks to attendees of a public meeting hosted by Huron -Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson in Walkerton on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. possible to come and talk to real people face-to-face" which he said would be "a real positive for the organization. The first speaker of the night, Ron Stephens, chas- tised Lister and Gill. "All of these people have been hurt (by Hydro One)," he said. He claimed Hydro One was "scamming" residents and said they were there to "pussy- foot" around the real issues. Stephens blasted Hydro One's recent announcement of reconnecting 1,400 cus- tomers who had fell behind on their bill payments. "They wouldn't be without power if you weren't running a scam. What happens in the spring? They will get cut off again, he said. He then turned his atten- tion to Thompson. "Why are you not exposing all of this garbage? You are part of the problem not the solution," he said Another resident said he has three different bills with different. delivery charges, which was very confusing. Gill said delivery charges are basically the amount of money Hydro One needs to recoup to "run the business." He said there are differ- ent types of the customers who pay different delivery fees and the charges are also determined by the amount of power used, while acknowledging even if a customer uses no power, they will pay deliv- ery charges. • Gill said Hydro One does not make the final decision on delivery charges, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) does. It was raised that rural customers often pay "dou- ble" in delivery charges that urban customers. Gill said Hydro One has been advocating to the OEB to look at this and they will continue to do so. A woman, clearly dis tressed, then confronted the panel, stating she had lived without hydro for a year, after having a year of $600 -a -month hydro bills. She claimed she had been in contact with former Ontario Ombudsmen Andre Marin, who was looking at her case before Kathleen Wynne "fired' him and that neither her MP or MPP in Hanover "had the decency to call me back." She thanked Thompson for scheduling the meeting but said Hydro One was "hiding behind words, rules and regulations that benefit you only." "And our governments have allowed it to happen," she said. The woman then turned her attention to 1 Iydro One's customer service. She claimed she had been "humiliated" and "talked down to," although she admitted she was referring to incidents from four or five years ago. Lister said the company now has "better quality con- trol on its customer service." "We are getting better," he said, to which the woman replied, "You have a long way to go." Gill was then asked why low income customers can- not be offered tiered -pricing instead of time -of -use prices. The woman said, "in Bruce County, you can't tell the furnace. not to run for eight hours because the hydro is too high." Spencer said it is the OEB as regulators that set rates, but explained that tiered - pricing and time -of -use rates both average out to about 11.1 cents per kilowatt. However, he acknowl- edged that Hydro One needs to be "more targeted" in addressing the specific con- cerns of rural customers. Ontario Federation of Agriculture Zone 2 Director Pat Jilesen said rural Ontario customers paid for "their poles and lines over a cen- tury ago." "We've already paid for what we need," Jilesen said. He said most farmers know they could rent a natu- ral gas generator and it would be cheaper for their operations but many have been doing their. part in energy conservation. .� He asked what Hydro One is doing in terms of cost cutting. Lister said there are cur- rently 14 million Hydro One bills mailed out each month and the e -bill initiative should save money on post- age and paper, although he acknowledged it wouldn't be an overly significant amount He said Hydro One has reduced the number of its poli- cies from 270 to 90 and is look- ing ooking into more efficient ways of co-ordinatingwork teams. "We've got more work to do," Lister said. Another resident, who identified himself as a farmer, said many "high-vol- ume customers" will eventu- ally stop using Hydro One's services because of the costs. Thompson encouraged those in attendance to reach out to all parties and "say enough is enough." The Conservative MP said Lister and Gill had been "courageous" to speak With residents given the amount of anger towards Hydro One. She said she is optimistic from what she heard and the new direction for Hydro One that was promoted. Crean, who did not speak much during the meeting, said the emotion shown dur- ing the meeting was typical. "The bills are high," she said bluntly. She said her role is to ensure Hydro One is dealing with customer concerns fairly. However, she said cus- tomers should use Hydro One's ombudsman's office as a "last resort" and "give the company a chance to fix the mistake that may have been made." Fundraiser at Boston Pizza Canada Summer Jobs 2017 application period extended until Feb. 3 Friday for woman who lost possessions to fire A fundraising evening is being held at Boston Pizza for a young woman who lost her possessions to fire is this Friday. The Jan. 27, 2017 event runs from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Kincardine restaurant. The evening will benefit Courtney Hunt, a 21 -year- old who lost her possessions in the Queen Street fire that destroyed her apartment on Jan. 5, 2017 at 2:30 a.m. "Courtney woke up to fire, she ran out of her apartment with only her pajamas on," her GoFundMe page 'Fine Takes All' reads. "Now, with less than even a suit case of clothing, we are asking for your help!' As of Monday morning, she had raised 5600 of a $5,000 goal. The deadline for the Can- ada Summer Jobs (CSJ) employer application period has been extended. All not-for-profit organiza- tions, public -sector employ- ers and small businesses with up to 50 employees will have another two -weeks to apply for funding from the Government of Canada. "I encourage Huron -Bruce not-for-profit organizations, public -sector employers and small businesses to apply for funding through the Canada Summer Jobs program so that we can help our students gain the skills and experience they need to be successful, while earning money for the upcoming school year," said Ben Lobb, Huron -Bruce MP. The Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program creates sum- mer job opportunities and valuable work experience for full-time students aged 15 to 30 years old. The application period has been extended until Feb. 3, 2017 and applicants approved for funding will be able to hire students as early as April 2017. For further information and to apply, visit Canada. ca/Canada-summer-jobs Canada Summer Jobs is part of the Government of Canada's Youth Employ- ment Strategy, which is its commitment to help young people, particularly those facing barriers to employ- ment, get the information and gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the labour market. Quidc Fads • Not-for-profit employers can receive 100 percent of the provincial/territorial minimum hourly wage and mandatory employment- related costs. • Public -sector employers and small businesses with up to 50 employees can receive 50 percent of the provincial/territorial mini- mum hourly wage. • Canada Summer Jobs has created almost 400,000 student jobs since its inception.