A White Rock man who complained to the B.C. Utilities Commission after his hydro bills inexplicably soared has pledged to continue fighting, despite a commission decision to dismiss the complaint.
“I am beyond disappointed,” Colin Murray said by email to BCUC and Peace Arch News, of the July 4 decision. “Instead of actual help, all they’ve done is bolster Hydro’s standing and point me towards added cost and aggravation.”
Murray asked the commission in April to look into what he described as “questionable” increases to his bills – which more than tripled in 2013 over 2010, to a bimonthly average of $109.46 from $31.30.
A BC Hydro spokesperson told PAN the discrepancy was the result of a combination of factors, including an increase in Murray’s power use and because, in 2013, his bill was estimated five times in a row, due to a reduction in staff and the fact Murray had opted to keep his analog meter.
The BCUC’s decision to Murray notes the estimates are permitted under BC Hydro’s electric tariff, and that staff “are satisfied that your billing is correct even though it is higher than normal.”
Murray remains confident that his meter – which BC Hydro advised him, shortly after he started questioning his billing, is expired – is to blame.
Following the decision, he initiated the process of having Measurement Canada test his meter.