Dear Editor:

This letter is written in response to the recent front page articple published in the Osyooos Times under the headline ‘Senior starting petition to voice his outrage at FortisBC rate hikes.’
I would first like to correct your stated charges for kwh. As per my Fortis BC bill, the rate is for Block 1 at 0.08136/kwh and Block 2 at 0.11769/kwh.
At the right hand column of bill is stated the total consumption per meter reading and averages per day of usage.
Second, I extend my sympathy to all in B.C. who are experiencing financial difficulties over this controversial revenue scheme initiated by Fortis BC.
I too am a retired accountant/programmer and now on a fixed income.
I too have been overbilled for over seven years.
If 500,000 FortisBC electric customers follow my advice, you will be surprised how fast FortisBC will cut off free electricity to California.
Since 2006, I have been watching my hydro costs rising at a fixed percentage of usage each year despite installing a new energy-efficient water heater, furnace, and purchasing all new energy efficient appliances.
My new washer and dryer both consume 1.5 kwh per load.
We use on average 18 kwh/day or less and that in the peak winter months.
This information we have learned within the last 45 days, with the installation of a “test” meter.
Up until my last bill for last December and January, Fortis has been charging me 82 kwh/day in January and 69 kwh/day for December.
This compares to 64 kwh/day in 2011 and BC Hydro charging 24 kwh/day back in 2006.
All this time I knew something was going wrong but how do I prove it.
Well, after the last bill I received for $615 over Christmas, despite the fact I didn’t use Christmas lights, no heat pump, furnace turning on very little and no extra showers or laundry, our consumption billed still went up.
I phoned FortisBC because now I was really getting angry at this horrible plot to make people install a smart meter.
Little did I know that I would learn some awful truths for my trouble.
This gentleman you interviewed is sadly unaware of his rights as a consumer.
He was quoted as saying, “He doesn’t know what to do”, and puts his trust in politicians who have no say in or power over a privatized company.
It’s time for this kind of thinking to stop and for citizens to fight back.
Here’s a list of things you can do, or shouldn’t do to win this battle, and feel better for being proactive rather than passive and trusting.
1. Do NOT pay a bill that is wrong. FortisBC is not legally able to cut off your hydro if you have been paying on time all the time. And especially if there are thousands doing the same. You officially put your most recent and even the bill prior to it in dispute by calling billing department and tell them that you want them to fix your bill. If they refuse to fix it, figure out from your bill what rate and read your “test”meter every day. Take pictures. Make sure you have a model that does NOT communicate with head office. Verify this with your technician. These meters have insignificant emissions and are harmless.
2. Do NOT enter into any financial arrangement to pay in equal installments or any such suggestion they may offer. Do NOT agree to equal billing at this critical time.
3. Call the meter department and request they install a “test” meter and that you believe there is something wrong with your meter. Also insist they test your line to the transformer for any possible bleeding. You have a right to properly operating equipment and electrical lines and they legally cannot refuse your request. Do NOT let them remove the new meter, just the old one because it will be sent away for analysis. Mine went to Alberta, the home province for Fortis.
4.Do NOT listen if someone screams at you or threatens you. HANG UP. Call a different department to pass along your message. Keep notes. Pay all bills by duplicate cheques until you are fully satisfied they have fixed your billing problem. Send a letter with your cheque explaining why you disagree. Keep everything, pictures too, in case you are asked to present evidence in court.
5.Even if you believe your meter is right, shut off your main breaker for at least a 12-hour test and watch to see if the numbers move. If away from home, shut off at your main breaker if you can to save on wasted energy flowing into your home. If your meter has analog wheels and you notice them spinning wildly, shut down at the main breaker to reset. Call for a replacement “test” meter ASAP.
6. Have a qualified electrician check your breakers for possible weakening due to excess energy flowing to your panel. Replace any old or defective breakers. In my situation, my entire panel of breakers needed to be replaced and my meter jumped out of alignment, causing readings in error of over 360 per cent. The problem was easily corrected at the main junction box, and the “test” meter left behind at my request, which has an easy to read digital face. No scanning inside my home, no direct communication with head office, no harmful emissions. But only because I finally spoke up.
Thank you for listening to a concerned resident of Osoyoos.

Josephine Ritonja
Osoyoos, BC