Customers fuming over sky-high power bills, but N.L. utility says cold and wind are to blame

Sheri Durdle opened her electricity bill last week to find she owed Newfoundland's only utility company almost double what she's used to paying.

"The first thing I thought was, did I forget to pay last month?" the St. John's woman said.

Durdle, who lives in a small apartment and keeps a close eye on her thermostats, says her February bill from Newfoundland Power nearly hit $300.

Before this year, her highest bill had been $150.

"I don't mind paying the bill if I used $300 worth of power," Durdle said in an interview Friday. "I have no problem paying the bill. I don't want to pay for something I have not used."

Durdle is among throngs of people posting online and contacting CBC News about the staggering costs of power this winter. Some of those disgruntled customers say they've had their power usage shoot up to levels they've never seen before, despite heating their homes with oil or wood stoves.

Lori Ann Bryant of Goobies, N.L., says she heats her home with an efficient boiler system, and she's mindful of how much power she uses on a daily basis. She also says her bill almost doubled compared to this time last year.

"I sit in the dark at night. I have candles burning. I have blankets on," Bryant said. "To get a near-$700 bill? It's just impossible."

Bryant says she hasn't been home for most of the last month, with her heat turned way down. When she called Newfoundland Power to dispute her latest bill, she says a representative told her that her power bill goes up when she's not at home.

"It didn't make sense," she said. "Now I have to choose between my mortgage and the power bill."

Both Bryant and Durdle are calling for an independent investigation into Newfoundland Power, which is owned by Fortis Inc., a North American utility company that owns $73 billion in assets across the continent.

PC Leader Tony Wakeham echoed that demand on Tuesday, saying in news release that he wrote to the Public Utilities Board asking them to launch a probe into spiking bills this winter.

"It is in the public's best interest for the PUB to investigate this matter," Wakeham wrote.

"We must determine whether the increases are legitimate or if there are any errors, discrepancies or underlying factors responsible for rising electricity costs."

Cold and wind to blame, utility says

Glenda Power, spokesperson for Newfoundland Power, says bitter cold and high winds contribute substantially to power usage, as heating systems have to work harder to maintain a steady temperature within the home.

She says complaints about increased power usage are common during the winter months.

"Increased usage doesn't mean you've turned your thermostat up," Power told CBC on Monday.

Power says the utility company began phasing in digital meters several years ago, and they're now present in all homes across the province. The meters are subject to rigorous testing and controls, she said, and need to be compliant with the standards set out by Measurement Canada, a federal agency that regulates devices used to charge customers.

Power says those meters are regularly sampled and sent to accredited testing facilities as needed. If one meter is broken, Power says the utility will replace the entire batch.

"I just want to assure our customers you'll never pay for power you didn't use," Power said.

"What we're seeing is a case of cold weather, high winds, impacting usage."

But the meters themselves, the province's consumer advocate says, are part of the problem: they're outdated, and don't allow customers to monitor their electricity use in real time.

Dennis Browne says he's been pushing for years to have Newfoundland Power install smart meters, which utility companies employ in nearly every other jurisdiction across the country. They've repeatedly refused, he says.

"These smart meters should have been in here two years ago," he said. 'Why Newfoundland Power wouldn't want it is beyond explanation."

For now, Browne says customers who want to dispute their usage should make a formal complaint to Newfoundland Power and request the company check their meters. They can then follow up with the Public Utility Board, which can investigate individual cases, he said.

But it's little consolation for customers now hundreds of dollars out of pocket, still wondering how it's possible a few weeks of cold — and a mere seven per cent rate hike last August — could translate to such a stunning spike on paper.

"It makes no sense how people's power bills can go up 50 per cent … it's like they won't acknowledge that there could be a problem," Durdle said. "There's something wrong."

Durdle, a single mother of two, says the money she'll have to send to Newfoundland Power will come out of her grocery budget for the month. 

"You have one company. Who's going to look into it?" she said.

"Something's not adding up."

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