...and why you should too....
I've never been particularly fond of Hydro One. No one really likes a monopoly, but over the past month or so I've really come to despise them.
Let me tell you why.
In the past, I haven't been as energy conscious as I should be. From time to time, I'd leave the TV or lights on in an empty room. In the evening, I generally had at least one light on outside. Last winter, I closed the vents in my crawlspace, but I didn't think to cover them, much less insulate anything.
As the winter of 2013-14 wore on, my hydro bills climbed steadily till they hit the point where I was acutely aware of it. I'm blessed. I am employed, and I earn a decent living but how, I wondered, could retired people, or those on a fixed income, out of work, or unable to work keep up with this? Should they have to?
I began to pay attention to my bill, and that's when I realised the extent to which Hydro One was picking my pocket, and for what.
Things like:
Debt Retirement Charge: This seems like a bad joke, but it's not. This is a charge we all pay to reduce Hydro Ones debt. Most companies use the revenue they generate through fair and equitable business dealings to reduce their debt load. Hydro One, like a certain political party, enjoys "Ethics Exempt" status.
Any guesses whether this will be removed when that debt is paid off? Hydro Fees - like energy - cannot be created or destroyed - only changed.
Adjusted Usage: Hydro one charges us for any electricity used to get you the electricity you need. Yes, I actually just said that and yes, it is Nickle and Diming taken to a whole new level.
Apparently, they send a small amount more than what you would use because when electricity is transmitted over distances, it's normal for a small amount of power to be used or lost as heat.
I'm not kidding. You couldn't make this kind of thing up. If Hydro One ever acquires Tim Horton's, a small double-double will cost you $5 - plus an employee wage top up fee, a bathroom cleaning fee and a peanut allergy liability charge. Also, it is normal for a small amount of coffee to be lost due to splashing and evaporation so....
The difference is, in that case, you could just say f-you and go to Starbucks....
You pay for that smart meter you didn't ask for: This is my favourite. All Hydro One customers pay a monthly fee to recover smart meter-related costs! No one likes to be violated, but you have to hand it to Hydro One for having huge dangly bits.
Seriously, I really had to clench not to soil myself when I read this one. What company asks its customers to cover capital expenses?!
If your mechanic asked you for $5.00 toward a new set of wrenches, I'm guessing you might find someone new to fix your car.
This is what happens when a dominant organization begins to abuse that
position of dominance. We should all be
outraged.
Can you reduce your Bill?
I strongly believe the answer is No, at least not any appreciable amount. Let me tell you why.
I recall an occasion a couple of years back when my bill was enormous...I mean like hundreds more than I expected. So I called.
Many of you may have experienced this..(please share if you have).The robot on the other end of the line went through all the reasons this was my fault - finally asking me if I had cooked a Turkey during Thanksgiving!
I could have cooked a Pterodactyl and it wouldn't cost $300.
But that's a very general statement. It was a while ago and admittedly I don't recall all of the detail.
Let me be more specific.
So with all this, you'd expect a considerable savings right? Not in Ontario. The bill for the same period this year is $197. That’s right, it went up.
Now of course, this will turn out to be due to a rate increase, or delivery charge, a slight decrease in ambient temperature, a different planetary alignment or maybe they’ve just made up something new.(Actually the message from Hydro One was my useage was consistent - in spite of the above)
Maybe the grey winter weather makes hydro one employees depressed and more likely to call in sick, so they needed to add a depression-accountability-fee...
Maybe they're just screwing us so hard they have had to tack on a contraceptive fee.
Maybe they changed the red colour in the Hydro One Logo and the new red costs more than the shade they used last year and a "colour spectrum adjustment" has to be passed on to the consumer...
Except we are not consumers because we HAVE NO CHOICE. We are Ontario residents completely at the mercy of these scumbags, with no way to influence what we pay every month, and for some, no way to dig out from an enormous debt.
I believe one way or another, Hydro One is going to claw consistent revenue from the people of this province, no matter what we use, and no matter what we can afford.
