TORONTO – The Ontario Energy Board says that one month after a ban on winter electricity disconnections took effect, about half of the affected customers remain disconnected.
The provincial government last month banned electricity distribution companies from disconnecting people’s electricity for non-payment during the winter.
Service had to also be restored “as soon as possible” to anyone who has had their electricity disconnected because they didn’t pay their bill or who had their power restricted through a load limiter.
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The OEB says when the ban went into effect, on Feb. 23, 845 residential customers were disconnected and 831 had load limiters.
Their most recent information shows that 407 customers have had their power reconnected and distributors have heard back from 62 customers, who the OEB says may be seasonal customers, who don’t want their service reconnected.
Fewer than 150 customers still have load limiters.
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Progressive Conservative Todd Smith said winter disconnections were supposed to end a month ago.
“Yet we still see people with no power in cold temperatures,” he said. “It’s shameful and it’s sadly just another broken promise from this government.”
New Democrat France Gelinas said all three parties came together to quickly pass the legislation to ban disconnections and she expected the reconnections to happen a lot faster.
“The month of March in Northern Ontario has been brutally, brutally cold,” she said.
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