Hydro One ombudsman hears complaints at forum in Muskoka area

CTV Barrie: Hydro forum Muskoka area residents got the chance to tell the ombudsman for Hydro One their concerns. Rob Cooper reports.

Hydro One customers in the Muskoka area got the chance to voice their concerns with the ombudsman assigned to investigate the electricity provider.

Fiona Crean visited Foley Community Hall in Seguin Township on Thursday afternoon to listen to residents and business owners.

“The most common complaint at the moment, which is no surprise, is the actual content of the bill. So people will and say ‘my bill is too high.’”

The cost of electricity is the one area Crean can't change or help with, but people had plenty of other concerns like the frequency of outages.

“They'll say four hours to start and I say ‘well I can wait for four hours.’ Then when it goes to 12 hours you think ‘well I guess I would have gotten my generators out,’” says resident Roy Snell.

The forum is being hosted by Parry Sound-Muskoka Progressive Conservative MPP Norm Miller.

“My offices frequently hear from constituents about a wide variety of challenges they face in regards to hydro,” Miller said in a statement. “We have heard from families and seniors that must depend on food lines in order to keep their heat on during the winter months and from businesses that are actively looking at relocating to other provinces in order to keep their doors open.”

Miller says he wanted to give his constituents the chance to voice their concerns and frustrations over hydro rates and transparency issues.

A second forum will be held in Huntsville on Thursday night at the Algonquin Theatre between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

He will take the comments made at both forums to Queen’s Park.

“Advocate for a policy that makes more sense.”

On Wednesday night, Premier Kathleen Wynne promised she's listening, though she was vague about what will be done.

“I get that electricity rates are high. I get that we need to find out a way to do something about that.”

The ombudsman has received 1,200 complaints to this point and will release her first report on Hydro One in the spring of 2017.