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FortisBC says they are working to rectify the situation between a Kelowna man and a billing issue that has received a lot of attention recently.
Michael Allison, FortisBC spokesperson, says the company is looking into what happened when Gary Fong continued to receive an electricity bill even though his home burned to the ground in January. In an interview with KelownaNow, Allison says Fong’s bill was determined based on an estimate of use in the past year.
Gary Fong's rancher before it burned to the ground (Photo Credit: Gary Fong/Facebook)
This is often the case when a meter reader cannot access a meter on a property for whatever reason. An estimate is taken from the previous year and then billed to the customer. This practice will end soon though, as smart meters come into line in the coming months. Meters have been installed in the Kelowna area but they have yet to be turned on in all locations.
According to Allison, when a customer receives a higher than normal bill and raises concern, the billing team will investigate. In light of the media attention received from Fong’s situation, Allison says FortisBC will be reviewing the situation and if it is found that Fong received a bill in error he will be credited. The meter itself was located in a barn and was feeding the house and still existed, it was not lost in the house fire.
“We have emailed, called, and text the customer to walk through the situation,” said Allison. “If a customer is charged for energy not used they will be credited.”
Gary Fong received this bill even though his home is not drawing energy (Photo Credit: Gary Fong/Facebook)
The situation seems to have come about by a simple miscommunication between the two parties. As Allison adds, FortisBC does not know what people use power for on their property, so while the house had burned down, electricity could have been drawn for another use. If the account on the property had been closed following the fire, or the meter had been accessible, the bill estimates would not have been issued. A final bill reading would have taken place and a final bill issued.
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