While many people are receiving BC Hydro bills that are higher than they’re used to, a retired commercial fisherman in Powell River appears to have one of the highest in the province.
Ivor Gustafson, 78, received a bill for $2,046.34 in January, the first bill he received after a smart meter had been installed in October. “It was quite a surprise, I’ll tell you,” he said.
If the bills aren’t lowered, he will have to sell the house, Gustafson said. “I don’t think very many people can afford that kind of a light bill, unless you’re the president of BC Ferries,” he said.
Gustafson has lived in the house, which he built himself, for seven years and has never received such a high power bill. His house has natural gas for cooking and to heat water and is heated by an energy-efficient heat pump. His hydro bill is usually around $200 and has never been higher than $400.
Last summer, Gustafson was diagnosed with throat cancer. During the 62 days covered by the $2,000 bill, he was away for a week in Victoria receiving radiation treatments.
His caregiver, Tammy Henderson, has been dealing with BC Hydro, trying to get the money back, since it was automatically deducted from Gustafson’s bank account.
Henderson said when she first contacted BC Hydro, “they hung up on me twice. They said it was the coldest winter we ever had.”
Henderson kept trying and talked to company representatives four or five times. “They just said, pay the bill.”
The fight with BC Hydro has been stressful for Gustafson, who is now reluctant to use any power in his house.
Jim Nicholson, BC Hydro’s director of customer care, said the company is sending an inspection team to Gustafson’s house this week. He said the company wants to find out what happened with Gustafson’s bill, but believes its smart meters are accurate and working properly.
Nicholson said that there had been a meter reading of Gustafson’s old analog meter on October 17 and there was another reading from October 17 to October 22, the day before the smart meter was installed. “In those five days, we see that the average daily consumption in that period has gone up in the order of four times,” he said. “That’s why we want to be able to go and work with them and actually get on the property, talk to them and do a breaker test and satisfy their concerns about what might be going on there.”
Nicholson also said he had just learned that BC Hydro representatives had hung up on Henderson and he was going to investigate what happened. He pointed out that the company receives several thousands of calls a day, but it takes every call seriously. “This is what we’re here for,” he said. “We’re here to serve the customer. We don’t take any of these lightly.”
Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons has taken Gustafson’s bill to Energy Minister Rich Coleman.
When the issue was raised in the Legislature, Simons said, “The minister made some joke about people running their hot tubs all day, then promised to personally look at every single one that we submit.”
Constituents have been contacting Simons about their high hydro bills since smart meters had been installed and he has been taking them to Coleman’s office, he said. “Ministers of churches, travel agents, people of all walks of life, have made complaints about it,” he said. “It’s not about the health of their household because of the smart meter, or the privacy. It’s the simple fact that these meters seem to be measuring a serious increase in consumption [compared to before] they had the smart meters.”
If people want the minister to look at their bills, they should take them to Simons’ office, he said, which is located at 4675 Marine Avenue. Preferably, people should also bring a printout of previous bills to compare, he added. “I’ll bring them personally down to the minister’s office,” he said.
