An Ottawa-area couple is questioning why their vacant land is being billed by Hydro One, despite the power being shut off.
Krista and Trevor Simpson purchased the roughly 20 hectares of land last year on Ramsay Concession Road 1, a few kilometres outside Carleton Place, with a goal of building a home on it.
They had the property connected to power lines shortly after the purchase, but the power has been disconnected for the past couple of months. Besides a mailbox, there's nothing else on the property.
Krista says they used power briefly in the summer to power a beer fridge, but have otherwise left the property alone.
She says she was stunned to receive monthly bills hovering over $100, with significant delivery charges attached.
"I don't know what they're delivering, the power's been shut off, we're not using any power, we're not generating any energy so I don't understand where the bills are coming from," she told CTV Ottawa.
Hydro One deflected criticism, saying the bill is based on estimates.
"Estimates are based on a customer's past usage so future bills will be more accurate to the actual consumption," Tiziana Baccega Rosa, a spokesperson with Hydro One, said in a statement.
Hydro Bill explained the delivery charges are set by the Ontario Energy Board because customers pay them as long as the equipment is there and as long as they can draw power any time they want.
The Simpsons still plan to build their dream home but say the experience has left them disillusioned with the power company.
"I think we might have to go off the grid and get solar power," Krista said.
Hydro One says the Simpsons will have a credit coming back to them and future bills will be more accurate. The couple are expected to end up with bills that even out to about $50 a month until they build.
Rising hydro costs have been a big issue in the community.
'This is a significant challenge for our provincial counterparts. They must address this. It's becoming a major problem for us," Carleton Place Mayor Louis Antonakos told CTV Ottawa.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne acknowledged the problem in recent days.
“We have made changes,” Wynne said, “We took the retirement debt charge off people's bills, there will be further reduction at the beginning of January when the provincial portion of the HST comes off people’s bills but ... we know that's not enough.”
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Joanne Schnurr
