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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-02-22, Page 3GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1979—PAGE 3 PUC takes gloves off dealing with hydro theft BY JEFF SEDDON The Goderich Public Utilities Commission may be conducting a house to house search in Goderich looking for people stealing hydro either by accident or design. PUC manager Al Lawson said Monday that theft of hydro is becoming quite a serious problem for Ontario Hydro and municipal utilities in the province. He said theft of elec- tricity is becoming' more and more prevalent pointing out that some of the theft is accidental. He said in many cases major appliances are hooked up to hydro lines entering the home before those lines go into the hydro meter. He said the meter will only record hydro used on wires coming out of the meter and that any electricity used from live wires ahead of the meter is considered stolen. "A lot of it is done in innocence," said Lawson but he added 'that it "does happen". He said in many cases work has been done in homes by' incompetent electricians and the owners of the home are not aware they are stealing the hydro. But he quickly added that the thefts are becoming "more and more Commission wants security BY JEFF SEDDON The Goderich Public Utilities Commission wants Ontario Hydro to provide the town with a more secure hydro system and intends to ask the Porter Commission to help the town with its request. In its monthly meeting Tuesday night the PUC decided to take a brief to the Porter Commission at a public meeting late in March pointing out serious deficincies inthe hydro system that feeds .the town of Goderich. The commission feels that while the present line feeding hydro to the town is adequate it provides no security in the event of downed power lines or a major blackout in the Goderich area. PUC chairman Herb Murphy prevailed upon the commission to prepare a brief for the Porter Commission when it holds a series of public meetings in Huron County late in Ma4rch. .The Porter Commission is on a tour of the province to try to gain some insight into the bulk power needs of com- munities across Ontario. The public hearings are designed to meet with customers of Ontario Hydro, small or large, to try to determine if present hydro systems feeding electric power to communities, industries and individuals 'are adequate. Murphy told the commission he was hesitant to suggest that it 'make its concerns known at the public hearings because of the terms of reference the Porter Commission had outlined for the public hearings. Murphy said at first he felt the public' sessions were the place to make the town's concerns known but closer examination of the things the Porter Commission said it wouldn't discuss caused him to wonder. He said the advertising about the public hearings made it clear the 'Porter Commission would not listen to briefs about types of hydro generation, location of hydro generating stations or plans of Ontario Hydro to deliver power to communities. Murphy said he was concerned with what the Porte Commission would not discuss.The chairman said he wanted to talk to the Porter Commission about needs Goderich has for a more secure hydro system but he felt the. Porter Com- mission would riot permit that. "If they .(the Porter Commission) won't deal with . specifics what the hell will they deal with?" asked Murphy. He pointed out to the commission` that the hydro system Goderich had constructed for its own use was based on a loop system designed for maximum safety in the event of a power failure in one area.He said the loop was designed to permit the PUC to feed hydro . to areas of town from several different locations so that if a problem or breakdown existed in one area the hydro could be switched to feed from another area to keep the blackout to a minimum. He said the main feeder line hydro operates from tran- Turn to page 5 • VAL'S VEAUTY SALON IT'S OUR MARCH PERM SPECIAL FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH WE SHALL OFFER: '30.00 PERMS - FOR $25 .00 '25.00 PERMS - FOR $22.99 '40.00 PERMS - FOR $18.00 $17.00 PERMS - FOR `1 5.00 95. &'12. Perms Will Remain The Same Sandy is back, so make an appointment with Val, Donna Kathie, or Sandy today. Vp)Beauty rJ Salon 87 KINGSTON ST. 1 S24-2943 prevalent all the time". The manager said the utility had two cases just recently where hydro was being stolen and had pressed charges in one of the situations. He said one man owned a house that at one time con- tained two apartments. Because of the apart- ments the PUC bad in- stalled two meters on the building. The owner stopped renting one apartment about seven years ago taking over the entire home for his own use. Consequently the PUC took one meter off and sealed the meter base. Some time later the owner went to the meter, broke the seal and opened it up. He installed two copper jumpers to allow electricity to pass through the meter base with no records of its use. He put the PUC cover Workmen have been busy at the Goderich harbour over the past few weeks plugging this gaping hole in the bow of, the Martha Hindman after the lake freighter struck the harbour wall at- tempting to move alongside the Goderich Elevator pier with 9,200 tons of grain late in December. The 73 year old 550 foot vessel tore a three foot by 25 foot gash in her bow when she struck the pier and sank in 23 feet of water within minutes. Her cargo was unloaded and she was moved to the north side of the harbour for .repairs. The vessel is owned by the Quebec and Ontario Tran- sportation Company of Thorold, Ontario. (photo by Jeff Seddon) -127 '-•-;-,;-•:••- 411111111111w..4111 �;�a r By popular demand!!! these grand old patterns of yesteryear will once again be available to you for a limited time. A wonderful opportunity to fill in, add to, or obtain a complete service in these cherished old patterns. Place your order here before April 15 and your made-to-order silverplate will be ready for you by Oct. 31, 1979 Remembrance Adoration Old Colony. ' ITEM / 7', 0,,, NA / 07 7': 4'a" NA NA Pt' 7'-• 4', NA RF.tTAII: 7.00 7.50 7.50 7.00 11.00 5.50 7.50' 10.50 TEASPOON DESSERT SPOON •DINNER FORK ' SALAD FORK •DINNER KNIFE ' COFFEE SPOON BUTTER SPREADER Flat Handle BUTTER SPREADER Hollow Handle •• Dessert size not available. • t Approdn ale length of dinner size. ANSTETT JEWELLERS LTD.' Since 1950 Walkerton Seaforth Clinton GI I lcrllagr Illy C(mod ian Itu'nrd Company ,Y� Sih'rrsnnlIi off i y�[��[� c off off WYlirdWi ffaftMMT741% back on and used the hydro for nothing. Lawson said the utility received an anonymous tip on the theft. He said at first he thought the call was a "crank" but decided to alert the police and check into it. He said' the police handled the matter and charged the man with theft of hydro electric services. The charge is under the Criminal Code and if a conviction results- the man will carry a criminal record. Lawson said Ontario Hydro was concerned enough about theft of hydro to conduct regular seminars on security. He said a new system of sealing meters had been developed to permit the utility to check into people suspected of stealing hydro. The system developed by hydro involves coloured seals on hydro meters. When the meter is checked and installed a grey seal will be put on it. If the customer is suspected of tampering with the meter it will be checked again and a red seal put on it. When the meter reader encounters a meter with a red seal on it he will automatically check to see if it has been tampered with at all. Latwson said two weeks after the man with the apartment was reported 'another incident arose where a man had swit- ched meters in an apartment. . The man lived in a building with a woman who -u-sed very - little hydro. The woman complained that her hydro bill was too high and the utility, knowing the bill was too high, discovered that the meters, which,,, are numbered accof I ng to +++ ,New invention: Tooth- paste with-built-iri food particles for people who don't have time to eat -between brushings. their location, had been switched. The manager said the switch could not be proved and all the utility could do was give a "stiff warning" to the culprit. Lawson said the penalty for tampering. with a hydro meter is a fine ranging from $300 to $500. He said charges can be laid under the Public Utilkties Act or the Criminal Code. Under the PUC Act no criminal record exists while under the Criminal Code record of the crime would be filed. The manager said the house to house search is something that has been contemplated several times. He said the search may turn up several incidents of theft of hydro where the ot,ner had no idea the service was being stolen and it may turn up flagrant theft. But he pointed out that either way theL matter wiil be resolved and the utility will be spared the loss of revenue. "We all pay for the hydro when someone is stealing it," Lawson pointed out. "Everyone in town has been paying for that man to steal hydro and have been for seven years," he added referring to the man that had jumped the contacts in the empty meter base. Guaranteed Investment Certificates 1 05,8'% W.E. (TED) WILLIAMS 524-7102 or 524-7665 Don 's Shoe Place IN THE AD LAST WEEKSPAPER SHOULD HAVE READ Men's '79 Creations Brown with Black Welt, In Senior Boys, C & E widths, sizes 61/2 to 12. In Black Leather D widths sizes 61/2 to 12 and EEE widths In sizes 8 to 11. Watch For Our Grand Opening In March. Don's Shoe Place "Because You're Worth It" The largest and most modern Orthopedic Sales and Service Centre.in this area. OPEN: 6 DAYS A WEEK 10 a.m.-6 P.M. FRIDAYS 6 P.M. -9 P.M. SUNCOAST MALL, GODERICH TV- 1 2 Special.. This Thurs. Feb. 22nd. - at 7:30 P.M. Be Sure To Hear: Dr. Ken Lambert -.Chief of Staff Elmer Taylor - Administrator Joyce Shack - Nursing Supervisor Gerry Zurbrigg - Board Member • They will explain what it will mean to ail of us if the Ministry of Health is permitted to close 50% of our active treatment hospital beds at the Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. IN ALL OUR FOOD DEPARTMENTS REGULAR GROUND BEEF $.1 • 3 LB. E -D'. SMITH KETCHUP 32 OZ. 99 REG. L39 DIETRICH'S 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD 2401. 2/ .99 A