Essex – Electricity consumers in Ontario
are one step closer to being protected from losing power when they’re unable to
pay security deposits demanded by their hydro companies thanks to a private
member’s bill introduced by Bruce Crozier, MPP for Essex
in the legislature yesterday.
“This bill will protect those in Ontario who, while able to pay for their
regular electricity usage, nevertheless find the demand for a security deposit
to be a serious financial hardship,” said Crozier. “These deposits can put those who pay their bills in as much danger of
losing access to electricity as it does those who do not pay their bills. My
bill will help people in Ontario
keep their power turned on, and not have to pay extra to do so.”
The Bill, entitled, the Electricity Amendment Act (Protection
against Security Deposits) 2009, is aimed at electricity distribution
companies. If passed, the bill would disallow
them from using unpaid security deposits, which are often tacked on to the
amount owing by a customer when they’ve had trouble paying their regular bill more
than once in a twelve month period, as justification for power shutoffs to
residential customers. This should come as a relief to many Ontarians,
especially those who courageously struggle to pay for their regular usage.
When asked about the motivation for the bill, Crozier noted
that he’d seen an increase in the number of constituents coming to his office
with this problem. They’ve struggled to pay their bills and just when they’ve
finally caught up, they’re hit with huge security deposits that they simply
can’t afford. They’re then told that their power will be shut off if they don’t
pay up.
SPECIFICS OF THE BILL:
The Bill amends section 31
of the Electricity Act, 1998 to
prohibit electricity distributors from shutting off the distribution of
electricity to a residential property if the only overdue amount payable by the
person receiving the electricity is in respect of a new security deposit or an
increase to an existing security deposit, and the person was receiving
electricity at the time that the new security deposit or increase was
demanded. The Bill also requires
electricity distributors to provide notice of this to their customers.
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Bruce Crozier, MPP
(519) 776-6420