Hydro's Mask Lifted

By Norman Soper

Blogs are as varied as the people who write them. Read on, and be enlightened

How would you feel if you knew that the only provider of electricity was stealing money from their customers every day? I am here to bring to you a dark and hidden secret, a secret that will blow your mind!

Just over a year ago I had a smart meter installed on my property in the country. My hydro bills went from about $200 to $1,200 and higher, instantaneously. I have been in a battle with the hydro company for over a year now, and think I have finally come to a resolution. In my search I have found many other people in the same situation. This gave me the motivation to dig deep, speaking with ex-employees, researching tactics, software, third party meters, and more.

When I got in touch with some of these employees they told me one thing first: “Never stop fighting.” Following the standard greeting that all the employees gave me, they told me that the company they worked for intentionally edits settings in the billing process, making individual bills inaccurate, and read much higher than the actual usage.

"The new meters are a standalone tool. The old meters had to have adjustments and special software to give a more accurate reading. What seems to be going on is that the new smart meters are being used with the old software to edit monthly billing for customers."

During my interviews, I was told me they are trained to lie if necessary, which alone should be illegal. They are also supplied with a small book full of situations and standard answers. If you are asking for information on something concerning your billing or energy usage, they look in this book, and give you a scripted answer. These books are filled with twists and lies.

"Most employees are aware of this, that is why I quit," said one of the people I interviewed. "Using a mix of software, billing techniques, smooth talking, and flat out lies, they could get Stephen Hawking to believe he was using over a thousand dollars a month instead of an actual reading that would be ‘round $200."

To help people understand, I'll try to give an easy explanation. Ever since hydro installed smart meters into the homes of many thousands of customers, they have gained more control over the readings and software used to bill them. The most common method of “screwing” a customer over is using a mix of old and new reading tactics. With the old meters, a multiplication factor had to be in place for a more accurate reading. Say the meter was reading X, that amount was actually a fraction of the real energy usage, since the meter was set to read low.  In the billing process this would be fixed by multiplying X by 40, or whatever factor adjusted the pulse rate to give the original accurate reading. The new smart meters give a month by month accurate reading, and should not have a multiplication factor in place.

In most cases concerning people being overcharged, when the meter was changed the multiplication factor was not taken out. So X was an accurate reading in the billing, and was still being multiplied.

This is only one of the many ways the hydro company is intentionally editing people’s bills; in effect, overcharging them. There are many more ways in which people are being overcharged and a simple Google search will bring these up.

If you or someone you know believes they are being overcharged for their energy usage-which is probably the case, I would recommend getting a third party energy reader. Many are available for under $100, and can be installed by anyone with little or no expert knowledge of electrical wiring. These third party meters will give accurate readings of the energy your home is using. If these meters conflict with billing information, contact your hydro company immediately. If you have a smart meter and your monthly billing is being estimated, or still has a multiplication factor in place, contact your hydro company immediately. Do not bother talking to front line workers as they have no authority to adjust your bill.  As they only have access to part of your file, ask to speak to a manager and document all conversations

Remember: It is their job to smooth talk you, and win you over by convincing you that you are wrong. Never give up, and never stop fighting. They are only getting away with this because most people give up too quickly.

As of now a group of people are trying to get organized for a class action law suit against Hydro Ottawa. If you or someone you know is interested, a Google search will the provide information you need to get involved, or even better, contact me on my blog for up-to-date information. I’d be glad to help.