BC Hydro customer owes thousands in diverted electricity case
BC Hydro was involved in a legal fight against a customer after claiming she had diverted her electricity and didn’t pay for it.
In a case at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, BC Hydro said that Pamela Ash diverted electricity from her electric meter on her rental property. BC Hydro claimed $3,365.69 for the unpaid part of the invoice.
Ash said she didn’t realize that the electricity was being diverted from the meter since, at the time, her boyfriend was taking care of that utility. She added that she was paying what she could to “make it right” but that she could no longer make payments.
BC Hydro initially investigated the issue on Dec. 16, 2019. According to BC Hydro’s records, it remotely disconnected service to the property for non-payment on Jan. 5, 2018.
Despite the disconnection, electricity was being consumed, the meter was missing, and lights were on in the house.
“So, they cut the line at the hydro pole,” the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision states.
Ash was sent a letter dated Dec. 19, 2019, advising her she owed $6,515.69. Ash said she had no idea electricity had been illegally hooked up at the property.
Between January 2020 and September 2022, Ash made periodic payments to pay off the owed amount. Ash told the tribunal that it had been over two years since BC Hydro first asked her to pay for the diverted electricity and that she paid what she could.
“I infer Ms. Ash’s position is that BC Hydro is out of time to bring its claim under the Limitation Act.”
Despite Ash saying that her boyfriend was taking care of the hydro, the tribunal found that it was her responsibility because she was the BC Hydro customer in possession of the property where the electricity diversion was taking place.
While the tribunal agreed that she was at fault, it didn’t agree with how BC Hydro calculated the debt. Ultimately, the tribunal ordered Ash to pay BC Hydro $2,295.92, which included $175 in tribunal fees.