In the week following a power outage that left most of Golden in the dark for over 30 hours, some residents have noticed an uptick in their usual power usage after it was restored.
Joy Guyot, who has owned her home in Golden for five years, was the first to take to Facebook to state that this past week, she noticed that the power usage in her home almost doubled following the blackout.
91裸聊视频淢y wife and I check almost daily the usage because we91裸聊视频檙e very careful about how much power we use,91裸聊视频� she explained.
91裸聊视频淲e have a wood stove, we have propane, we don91裸聊视频檛 use electric heat, but in the last five days it91裸聊视频檚 been almost double what we usually use.91裸聊视频�
She says after making her Facebook post, she heard from others in town that they were experiencing a similar phenomenon.
A statement from BC Hydro explained that the surge in power usage could be attributed to the fact that some appliances may need extra power to get their temperatures back up in order to operate efficiently.
91裸聊视频淐ustomers in Golden may have noticed an increase in their consumption immediately following the power outage on Dec. 9 and 10 as their appliances and heating systems turned back on and ran more often than usual to return to temperature,91裸聊视频� read the statement.
91裸聊视频淲e also know that during the winter months, heating costs can rise up to 140 per cent, which leads to higher electricity bills. BC Hydro records the highest demand for electricity on weekday evenings when British Columbians come home, turn up the heat, switch on the lights, do laundry and make dinner. Residential electricity can increase, on average, by 88 per cent in the colder, darker, winter months.
91裸聊视频淚f customers have noticed an increase in their electricity consumption and want to learn more, we encourage them to call the contact centre at 1-800-BCHYDRO (1-800-224-9376).91裸聊视频�
Guyot isn91裸聊视频檛 satisfied with the answer, saying that during the outages, she plugged in her appliances to a generator, meaning they would have remained operational and wouldn91裸聊视频檛 have had a chance to cool off.
She says that she called BC Hydro to complain and was told to bring in an electrician to check her panel. In turn, when an electrician attended, they couldn91裸聊视频檛 find anything wrong with her metre. In order to fully check out the metre, Guyot says she was told it would have to be sent away, and that she would be charged $185 if nothing wrong was found with it.
Guyot91裸聊视频檚 wife, Michelle Nagy-Deak, was told by BC Hydro that the metre was accurate and that the outage would not have done anything.
Guyot has reached out to the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC), an independent regulatory agency of the Government of British Columbia, about the increase in usage, but was instructed to bring her complaints directly to BC Hydro and deal with them as the first point of contact.
91裸聊视频淚f your concerns are not resolved after receiving a response from a BC Hydro Customer Service Supervisor, we welcome you to come back to us and we will further assess whether your complaint is something we are able to assist you with,91裸聊视频� wrote back the BC Ombudsmen.
91裸聊视频淚t aggravates me completely, it91裸聊视频檚 not right, they can do whatever they want and there91裸聊视频檚 nothing we can do about it,91裸聊视频� said Guyot.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 no recourse even with the Commission, they91裸聊视频檙e just like deal with them and come to us after. I don91裸聊视频檛 want to wait till we get a bill, that91裸聊视频檚 why we stay on top of our power consumption, everyone I talk to who had a billing dispute with BC Hydro never got their money back.91裸聊视频�
Guyot says that they will be following up with the electrician over the weekend after restarting their meter, and will continue to monitor to see if their power consumption goes down.
From there, she will be following up with BC Hydro and the BCUC.
She91裸聊视频檚 encouraging anyone who was affected by the outage to also monitor their usage and speak with BC Hydro if they have a similar problem.
