Save Maple Ridge Centre
Donation protected
Our Nightmare with Hydro One
We purchased the Maple Ridge Public School building back in August of 2013 and turned it into a business & community centre. Hydro One has made our lives miserable and made it nearly impossible to run our business since day 1.
Initially, it took us 11 months to get our first bill from them, despite calling each month asking for the bill. They couldn't even tell us what our usage was and told us to "just wait for your bill". This put us in a very difficult position as we couldn't be sure our rental rates were accurate without having all our expenses detailed. We got the ombudsman involved and miraculously, 2 weeks later we received our $10,000 bill! It was somewhat shocking because we had never received a bill for the property, but we could live with it.
Last week, however, we received a "Welcome to Hydro One" bill for $25,500.05! This bill came under a different account number for the span of 524 days and we thought, "there must be some mistake!". Hydro One informed us that was the bill from our second meter - a demand meter. Yet not once in our 18 months here, did they ever inform us that we would be billed separately for that. Even when asked at the beginning, to explain why we had 2 meters, they told us "the second is a demand meter, but you're not on demand billing so that meter doesn't really matter". They are adamant that the meter is correct and we do owe them that amount.
We are beyond conservative in our electrical consumption and those who have visited our facility can attest. The usage they are claiming we owe for is ON TOP of the Hydro we are already paying for!
This is beyond devastating to us. What they are doing is criminal. We have tenants in our building that have been paying rent based upon what we thought were our accurate expenses and now we find out our Hydro costs are triple! We can't go back to them and tell them they owe us thousands of dollars more because Hydro One messed up! If we had known from day one, we could have done things differently - adjusted rates, attempted to be even more conservative on our energy usage, etc. But it's too late for that now. We are in danger of losing our business & our home. Sadly, this not only affects us, but our tenants and the community we serve as well.
Please, can you help us spread the word? All we want is to keep our doors open to the community and provide a home for other small businesses. We can't do that without your support. If you are local to our centre, please consider becoming a member or booking your party or event at our facility. If you have a business looking for a new home, please check us out! Or, if you simply find it in your heart to support our cause, any donation amount is greatly appreciated. Every little bit helps!
Speak out against the exorbitant rates we, in Ontario , are forced to pay for hydro. Voice your distaste for ridiculous fees like delivery & debt retirement, fraudulent billing practices, and not-so-"smart" meters. Hydro One must be stopped before they force everyone out of the province and put those who remain into utter poverty. #HydroOneEIE #StopHydroOne #SaveMapleRidgeCentre
We purchased the Maple Ridge Public School building back in August of 2013 and turned it into a business & community centre. Hydro One has made our lives miserable and made it nearly impossible to run our business since day 1.
Initially, it took us 11 months to get our first bill from them, despite calling each month asking for the bill. They couldn't even tell us what our usage was and told us to "just wait for your bill". This put us in a very difficult position as we couldn't be sure our rental rates were accurate without having all our expenses detailed. We got the ombudsman involved and miraculously, 2 weeks later we received our $10,000 bill! It was somewhat shocking because we had never received a bill for the property, but we could live with it.
Last week, however, we received a "Welcome to Hydro One" bill for $25,500.05! This bill came under a different account number for the span of 524 days and we thought, "there must be some mistake!". Hydro One informed us that was the bill from our second meter - a demand meter. Yet not once in our 18 months here, did they ever inform us that we would be billed separately for that. Even when asked at the beginning, to explain why we had 2 meters, they told us "the second is a demand meter, but you're not on demand billing so that meter doesn't really matter". They are adamant that the meter is correct and we do owe them that amount.
We are beyond conservative in our electrical consumption and those who have visited our facility can attest. The usage they are claiming we owe for is ON TOP of the Hydro we are already paying for!
This is beyond devastating to us. What they are doing is criminal. We have tenants in our building that have been paying rent based upon what we thought were our accurate expenses and now we find out our Hydro costs are triple! We can't go back to them and tell them they owe us thousands of dollars more because Hydro One messed up! If we had known from day one, we could have done things differently - adjusted rates, attempted to be even more conservative on our energy usage, etc. But it's too late for that now. We are in danger of losing our business & our home. Sadly, this not only affects us, but our tenants and the community we serve as well.
Please, can you help us spread the word? All we want is to keep our doors open to the community and provide a home for other small businesses. We can't do that without your support. If you are local to our centre, please consider becoming a member or booking your party or event at our facility. If you have a business looking for a new home, please check us out! Or, if you simply find it in your heart to support our cause, any donation amount is greatly appreciated. Every little bit helps!
Speak out against the exorbitant rates we, in Ontario , are forced to pay for hydro. Voice your distaste for ridiculous fees like delivery & debt retirement, fraudulent billing practices, and not-so-"smart" meters. Hydro One must be stopped before they force everyone out of the province and put those who remain into utter poverty. #HydroOneEIE #StopHydroOne #SaveMapleRidgeCentre
Organizer
Rachel Potvin
Organizer
Chesterville, ON
