Hydro One Networks—can we guess what to bill our customers?
If your faith in the Ontario Ombudsman’s ongoing investigation into Hydro One’s billing system is wavering (now approaching 15 months and still no report), the application (EB-2015-0176) Hydro One submitted last Wednesday, May 6, 2015 will blow your mind.
As you may know, Hydro One with 1.2 million customers is the largest electricity distribution company in Ontario, serving a quarter of all ratepayers, and with the second highest costs.
The billing system that Hydro One launched with great fanfare back in the Spring of 2013 using the now famous “smart meters” is apparently not working quite the way it was planned. So, now, Hydro One has asked the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) for an exemption to “the Distribution System Code (the “Code”) pertaining to billing accuracy and estimated bills, namely sections 2.10.1 and 7.11.1 to 7.11.7.”
What the exemption asks for is related to the OEB requirement associated with the “Distribution System Code requiring 98% billing accuracy and limiting the use of estimated billing for customers with poorly communicating smart meters.”
Hydro One in fact wants to backdate this request and carry it forward as noted in this application excerpt: “Hydro One requests that the Board establish the exemption to begin on April 15, 2015, the date on which the subject requirements came into force, and to remain in place until December 31, 2019. The timing of this request is intended to coincide with the timing of Hydro One’s current exemption (EB-2014-0360) for time-of-use pricing.”
This request from Hydro One comes just as the Ontario Liberal government is preparing to sell off 60% of Hydro One, while attempting a settlement with the Power Workers Union for their demands for a new labour contract offering them shares in Hydro One. Energy Minister Chiarelli’s spokesperson, Jennifer Beaudry, said the tentative agreement is “net zero,” meaning the pension concessions offset the wage increases and share program.
“Net-zero” on the backs of the exemption requested from the OEB would certainly go down well with the pension funds expected to grab up these Hydro One shares, knowing the OEB has already approved the rate increase to pay for Hydro One’s new billing system, which will now also be exempted from accuracy.
It beggars belief.
Hydro One asks for exemption on billing accuracy | WCO | Wind Concerns Ontario
If your faith in the Ontario Ombudsman’s ongoing investigation into Hydro One’s billing system is wavering (now approaching 15 months and still no report), the application (EB-2015-0176) Hydro One submitted last Wednesday, May 6, 2015 will blow your mind.
As you may know, Hydro One with 1.2 million customers is the largest electricity distribution company in Ontario, serving a quarter of all ratepayers, and with the second highest costs.
The billing system that Hydro One launched with great fanfare back in the Spring of 2013 using the now famous “smart meters” is apparently not working quite the way it was planned. So, now, Hydro One has asked the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) for an exemption to “the Distribution System Code (the “Code”) pertaining to billing accuracy and estimated bills, namely sections 2.10.1 and 7.11.1 to 7.11.7.”
What the exemption asks for is related to the OEB requirement associated with the “Distribution System Code requiring 98% billing accuracy and limiting the use of estimated billing for customers with poorly communicating smart meters.”
Hydro One in fact wants to backdate this request and carry it forward as noted in this application excerpt: “Hydro One requests that the Board establish the exemption to begin on April 15, 2015, the date on which the subject requirements came into force, and to remain in place until December 31, 2019. The timing of this request is intended to coincide with the timing of Hydro One’s current exemption (EB-2014-0360) for time-of-use pricing.”
This request from Hydro One comes just as the Ontario Liberal government is preparing to sell off 60% of Hydro One, while attempting a settlement with the Power Workers Union for their demands for a new labour contract offering them shares in Hydro One. Energy Minister Chiarelli’s spokesperson, Jennifer Beaudry, said the tentative agreement is “net zero,” meaning the pension concessions offset the wage increases and share program.
“Net-zero” on the backs of the exemption requested from the OEB would certainly go down well with the pension funds expected to grab up these Hydro One shares, knowing the OEB has already approved the rate increase to pay for Hydro One’s new billing system, which will now also be exempted from accuracy.
It beggars belief.
Hydro One asks for exemption on billing accuracy | WCO | Wind Concerns Ontario
