M’CHIGEENG—In a meeting facilitated by Brian Parker (on behalf of the Manitoulin Municipal Association) and Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha, Hydro One’s new ombudsman Fiona Crean came to a meeting held Monday night in the cafeteria of Manitoulin Secondary School to bring awareness of what her office does and to hear from Island residents about issues they were facing with Hydro One. Ms. Crean brought along with her Ferio Pugliese, the executive vice president Customer Care and Corporate Affairs. As it turned, out bringing him along was inspired as Mr. Pugliese fielded most of the answers to questions being asked by the audience.

The Hydro One team was about half an hour late for the meeting, delayed flights from Toronto and an uncooperative GPS being cited as the cause and both parties apologized for the delay.

While folks waited for the arrival of the Hydro One ombudsman, Mr. Mantha called on OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees Union) member Jamie Kinsley to speak on behalf of the Keep Hydro Public organization.

Mr. Kinsley explained that he has been an employee of the LCBO for 23 years. “OPSEU has a number of campaigns, but the one that is really trending right now is Keep Hydro Public,” he said. He noted that the public outcry against the sale of Hydro One keeps growing. “Somebody right now is trying to privatize your public assets,” he said.

Mr. Kinsley pointed out that 30 percent of Hydro One had already been sold and that another 30 percent is going up for sale.

“Let people know,” he said. “You don’t have to take this sitting down. Get the message out there. The more people speak up the more they will have to listen, speaking up is the right thing to do.”

Mr. Kinsley urged people to sign a petition he had available and to write down their email address. “We are not asking you for anything except your support,” he said, acknowledging that people get many solicitations through their email these days. By providing an email, the Keep Hydro Public campaign can inform people of when a rally or meeting is taking place locally.

Mr. Mantha suggested that the privatization is a reason for high energy rates. “Other provinces have kept their hydro companies public and they are paying lower rates,” he said.

Mr. Mantha went on to note that the issue of the cost of electricity is an emotional one right now, but he implored those in attendance to avoid profanity. “I understand your frustration,” he said. “If you are frustrated, take it out on me after the meeting.”

Mr. Mantha went on to request that questions be kept shortish. “I know you will want to put some meat behind it, okay, but keep it to two or three minutes,” he suggested.

Ms. Crean and Mr. Pugliese were introduced by Mr. Mantha and they gave a few opening remarks to explain what they can and cannot do in regards to people’s concerns.

“You can tell me all about high rates and the selling of the company,” noted Ms. Crean. “There is zero I can do about that.” Those items lie in other organizations and the policies of the government of the day.

“I am glad that my colleague Ferio is here,” she noted, pointing out that he was in a better position to answer questions about Hydro One and its customer service than she would be.

“What I can do… in any company as big as Hydro One things happen, mistakes get made, things go wrong,” she said, but the ombudsman went on to point out that “complaints about those issues are a good thing. It offers up an opportunity to fix things.” She went on to note that before people can bring an issue to her office they must first bring that issue to the attention of the company.

While individual issues are important and steps can be taken to rectify those issues, the real meat of the matter lies in what she termed “systemic problems.” “It’s important to fix an individual problem, but if there are lots of problems, it is best to fix the underlying cause.”

Since her office opened, Ms. Crean has received 1,700 complaints. “The numbers are irrelevant,” she noted. “It’s how the company responds to those complaints.”

The ombudsman noted that no problems were going to be fixed at the microphone. “I have learned that there are at least 17 sides to every story,” she said. But she noted that she would collect information on the issues and that they had forms available for people to formally indicate their issue for her office to look into. “We will get back to you within two days on how we are going to proceed.”

“Hydro One is changing and the way it does business,” he said of his decision to work for the company.

Mr. Pugliese noted that he was old enough to remember the first attempt at privatizing Hydro One that began 15 years ago.

He said that by becoming a private corporation Hydro One has an opportunity to be more flexible in how they deliver services to their customers, but he cautioned that when it came to setting rates, Hydro One is in the delivery business, not the energy generation business. “We don’t control the rates at Hydro One,” he said. “We are in the wires business.” That business equates to about 38 percent of the monthly bill that shows up in people’s mail.

“We are trying to find ways to be more efficient so that at least that part we are responsible for will not cost you more,” he said. He went on to add that the company wanted to improve their customer relations. “We are trying to improve our level of response,” he said. “The last thing they want is to see you having to go to the ombudsman. We want to be available to you.”

Mr. Pugliese said that the meeting at MSS was just the “start of many trips into communities as we head into 2017.”

The first person up to the microphone was Manitoulin radio entrepreneur Craig Timmermans. “Everybody is on the bandwagon of electricity costs,” he said, before pointing out that Hydro One once had a subsidy program to encourage people to convert to electric heat. He suggested that rather than trying to get people to use less electricity, the government should be encouraging people to switch to efficient forms of electric heat. Mr. Timmermans suggested that by increasing consumption, the overall cost of that energy to the individual consumer or business would decrease. He pointed out that hydro and nuclear generation are relatively green sources of energy.

Mr. Pugliese agreed that those two forms of energy were relatively clean, but pointed out that the cost of energy was a complicated issue. The move to renewable energy were at the root of the global adjustments and the major cause of high rates, he alleged. But in shutting down coal generation and switching to renewables came with a cost. “Those are the facts,” he said. “It’s not right or wrong, it just is what it is.”

Mr. Pugliese suggested that, as the owner of the bill and the entity that is closest to the consumer “we can advocate on your behalf.”

It was a theme that would be repeated regularly throughout the meeting—that Hydro One can advocate for lower electricity costs with the government. He also suggested that people “lean on your Member of Parliament,” although he likely meant MPP.

Mr. Pugliese noted that Hydro One has made significant progress, especially in rural areas.

Mr. Timmermans suggested that innovations such as the European communities that are using electric cars to store energy can assist in improving the system. “The Eu seems to be a lot more advanced,” he said.

He noted that in Northern Ontario “we have more poles than people” and that fact presents a challenge in delivering electricity to rural regions. While the company generates a return, that return is reinvested into the infrastructure of the gird. But he cautioned that the grid is aging quickly and that there are significant investments that need to be put in place in order to ensure the security of delivery.

Jan McQuay stepped up to the microphone to “make a statement, not pose a question.” She pointed out that baseboard heaters are not an efficient source of heat, but that geothermal very efficient. “We should be getting into that area,” she said.

On another note, Ms. McQuay suggested that “we have been letting nuclear get away with a lot.”

She relayed a list of suggestions that she had sent into the EBR registry as comments.

“In general, Ontario should be developing renewables and conservation measures, specifically on energy: do not refurbish any of the nuclear plants in operation and don’t build new reactors at Darlington. Reject OPG’s request to continue Pickering after 2018. Let Pickering nuclear power plant cease power production and prepare decommissioning. It is too costly and we have enough nuclear waste already, we do not need more; submit the Bruce nuclear deal to public scrutiny through an Ontario Energy Board review; do set up long term contracts with Quebec to buy their hydro electricity, sometimes it is better to rent than to buy; keep time-of-day pricing on electricity and do not remove the provincial portion of the HST on electricity bill as that only encourages more energy use; return the provincial portion to low income households; and set up new government procurement programs for renewables and conservation.

For the most part, the one recurring theme throughout the evening kept returning to the high cost of energy bills. One interesting question that was not answered directly by Mr. Pugliese was offered up by a gentleman who wanted to know why energy is shipped down south and than back up to the Island. Mr. Pugliese responded that the distribution was directed by the ISO (Independent Service Operator, another one of the parts of the old Ontario Hydro). In fact, electricity generated by local wind, solar and biofuel operations is added to the grid, and used locally.

Ms. Crean, reading the question as being why power is sold to the US if it is not needed in Ontario, noted that the issue is a lack of storage ability. “It is better to get two cents than to let it run to ground and get nothing,” she said.

Another question centered on the recognition that 62 percent of the bill is the responsibility of other agencies, such as the Ontario Energy Board, which sets the rates. In response to why the other organizations were not present, Mr. Mantha made a commitment to attempt to arrange such a meeting.

On the question of poor customer relations at the Hydro One call centres, Mr. Pugliese made a strong commitment to see that aspect corrected. He noted that there were 1,400 customers who had been disconnected in the province who have now been reconnected-without service charges. He noted that the company cannot by regulation forgive the debt, or subsidize other users of the system and place that burden on other consumers, the company could be flexible in assisting people in payment plans to handle that debt.

Linda Bowerman of Sheguiandah noted that her family’s summer residence receives an estimated bill that is far in excess of what it uses, but that in order to correct that, the couple must travel to the camp to read the meter. “We have to spend $20 just to get there and back,” she noted. “Why can’t they just look at last year’s bill and estimate?”

Mr. Pugliese noted that there was a great deal of opposition to estimated billings, but that he would see what could be found to deal with the issue.

Both retired teacher Mark Olacke and retired nurse Joanne Wade said that over their years in service they had seen terrible living conditions and people struggling with bills. Ms. Wade also challenged the impact of wind generation on Manitoulin, noting that there was little to no benefit for most people living here.

Ms. Wade went on to say that she had spoken to a number of people about the meeting that night but they had expressed to her that there was no point in attending as everything was already decided.

Jeff Heitkamp, who works for the Manitoulin Abattoir, a non-profit, noted that the company was being driven into the ground by high rates. Missing a $1,300 payment by five days, the company is now expected to pay a deposit of $2,700. “How are we supposed to do that if we are having trouble paying $1,300?” he asked.

The concluding question was “how can we help you” in relation to advocating for lower electricity costs. The answer from both Hydro One representatives was essentially to help educate people on how the system works and to “call us” when things are not going as they should.