Direct Energy is sending customer service representatives to Fort McMurray, Alta., to meet with residents who were hit with pricey utility bills months after fleeing May’s wildfire.
Because of the disaster, which forced the entire city of 80,000 to evacuate, customers did not receive their electric and gas bills for months.
But over the past few weeks bills have been arriving that lump together months’ worth of charges, often demanding four-digit sums at once.
READ MORE: Fort McMurray residents shocked at steep Direct Energy power bills
Direct Energy did apply credits to offset charges during the month-long evacuation, but many residents were shocked by the final tally and say the numbers don’t make sense.
The company will be hosting full-day sessions in Fort McMurray on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to answer questions face to face.
It will also take part in a public information session hosted by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo set for Thursday evening.
“We wanted to come to Fort McMurray as we know that our customers have some questions about their bills related specifically to the evacuation credits and wanted to be able to be there in person to be able to answer those questions and make things right for our customers,” said company spokeswoman Wendy Tynan.
Direct Energy has 26,700 customers in Fort McMurray and the surrounding communities.
The city was emptied out for most of May while firefighters battled the blaze and crews worked to get basic services back up and running. People were allowed to return in phases beginning in early June.
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