Don't be afraid to ask, EUB tells power consumers

December 6, 2002

Don't be afraid to ask, EUB tells power consumers
Board doesn't expect to levy many $75 meter reading fees on electricity users

Dave Mabell

If your Epcor power bill is wrong, don't be afraid to ask questions. Bob Curran, spokesman for the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, says he doesn't expect to see many $75 meter reading fees slapped on homeowners' accounts.

And Curran says it's the board, not the company that could levy the penalty if a customer wrongly claimed the electric utility was overcharging.

"Most meter readings cost about $35," he adds. "But the company has no control over the fee we'd charge."

So many Epcor customers complain about inaccurate readings, the EUB has hired mediators who will review bills disputed by Epcor customers. Where the bill is more than 20 per cent higher than the actual power use, the board says the customer will be awarded a $75 credit.

EUB officials could begin fielding calls as early as today, Curran says, because any bill dated in December is eligible for review.

Epcor's service area includes large parts of southern Alberta, apart from Lethbridge and several communities to the west.

To avoid "frivolous or vexatious complaints, the board says it can levy reading fees of up to $75. But Curran says he doesn't expect to see that happen very often.

Pamphlets mailed with December bills outline the complaint procedure, he adds. They'll also explain Epcor customers in Edmonton - the company's home base - as well as contract customers in Lethbridge and other centres have no access to the new complaints system.

"I can't tell you why," says Curran.

While many Albertans believe the EUB now sets the province's power policies and regulations, he says those decisions are still made by Tory cabinet ministers.

"We're like the cops," says Curran. "We don't write the laws."

The government, he adds, is still deciding whether it will put all city-owned power utilities - Medicine Hat's community-owned system, along with Calgary-owned Enmax and Edmonton-owned Epcor - under the board's price-setting control.

Since the Tory government "deregulated" the province's privately owned power system two years ago, it's issued a series of regulations which continue to change the rules for producers and consumers.

At the moment, Lethbridge city council has formal control over the prices charged homeowners and businesses here. In reality, a board appointed by Calgary city council decides what rates Enmax should charge its "default" customers in Lethbridge.