Joyce McGregor could not believe her eyes when she opened her April bill from Manitoba Hydro.
The bill said she owed $4,701.
“I was in shock, almost in tears. I called my son and said ‘I can’t believe this’,” said McGregor.
She immediately called in to straighten the problem out.
She said a Manitoba Hydro customer service agent told her she had been undercharged for the last four years, and this bill is making up for the error.
“They said they under-billed us for 48,000 kilowatts.”
McGregor, whose son lives with her, said she considers themselves average energy users.
They have all LED lights in their 880 sq ft home, with high efficiency appliances and a low power hot tub.
“When she told me that, I was like ‘no way we used that much kilowatts and our bill being $4700’,” said McGregor’s son David Owen.
Owen added that the two shouldn’t be paying for Manitoba Hydro’s mistakes.
“Doesn’t really work that way if it’s not our own fault.”
McGregor asked Manitoba Hydro for her billing history, which she was given back to 2004.
After doing the math, she believes she uses 34 kilowatts per day, which is an average of 1,000 per month.
McGregor believes the math doesn't add up, and refuses to pay the bill.
“You know what, they can take the bill and keep it now, because I am not paying an outrageous bill.”
She said she is upset she has been slapped with a huge bill because of an error the company made.
McGregor asked for a face-to-face meeting with a representative from Manitoba Hydro, but has not heard back.
“I am not paying this until I know that we have sat down and talked. This has to be figured out. We don’t owe this money,” she said.
The bill was due May 2, 2016.
Manitoba Hydro said staff tries to read customers metres every two months, and in this case, it appears that didn’t happen.
They add that they are working with the customer, to come up with a solution that works for both parties.
