Edmonton woman shocked by $11K electricity bill

An Edmonton woman got a jolt when she receivedan $11,253electricitybill after one month in hernew downtown condo.

VivianKwanhas lived in theUltimabuilding across from Rogers Placesince June. When she checked her personalemailover the weekend, she foundher first power bill from her electricity provider, EPCOR, which had been sent on Thursday.

"It's such an absurd amount,"Kwansaid of her bill, whichsuggestedthat over 24 days, she'd used 122,400 kWh of electricity enough for the33-storeybuilding.

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On Monday morning, she called EPCORfor help, thinking there would be an easy fix. She said thecustomer service representative she talked to for36 minutes told her there was nothing they could do because the bill reflected the address she'd entered, which was her building, not her suite.

"I was told that they have the ability to backdate or reverse certain bills, but they can only do it if it's their mistake," Kwan said. "They're like, 'Oh, because this is your fault, we can't.'"

Wrong address

Prior to moving in, Kwan registered with EPCORfor power other utilities are included in her rent. She used EPCOR'sonline self-service tool, but said she encountered technical difficulties.

"I was trying to manually punch in my new address, but it gave me a couple error messages saying, 'Couldn't find the address,'" Kwansaid, noting that eventually the system appeared to find a match.

Although that match didn't include her unit, she said the mailing address that she provided clearly does.

Kwansaid the customer service representative suggested she ask her landlord for reimbursement for the bill.

"Honestly, this experience doesn't really leave a good impression for me," she said, noting that her landlord was equally baffled by the situation and like her, expects EPCOR should be able to rectify it.

Kwanworks in an administrative role at the University of Alberta's faculty of science. She only graduated two years ago and is still mired in student debt.

"Oh, definitely, I have 11 grand lying around just to pay utility bills," she said sarcastically.

Kwan said the EPCORbill is about a quarter of herloans.

"That amount just stresses me out," she said.

'Something has gone off the rails'

Frustrated by her conversation with EPCOR'scustomer service department, Kwanposted about it on Facebook and Twitter. EPCORresponded to one of her tweets and then called to tell her the company would look into her bill.

EPCOR spokesperson Tim Le Riche told CBC Newson Monday afternoon that the company is aware of the situation.

"Something has gone off the rails in the enrolment process and we'll correct it," Le Riche said, confirming that EPCORis in touch with the customer, but not that she'd be off the hook forthe $11,000.

Le Riche said that without a privacy waiver from the customer, he couldn't provide any more information.

As of Monday night, Kwan'sbillis still $11,253. She said she's thankful she didn't sign up for pre-authorized withdrawals.

"If that happened, that would have been a nightmare," she said.

Kwan said shehas since changedto a different electricity provider.

roberta.bell@cbc.ca

@roberta__bell