Alberta farmer wins fight over sky-high gas bill

Asenior battling a utility company over an outrageous gas bill has won his fight thanks to a vigilant meter inspector.

'I feel relieved. Especially since I knewI was right." Sid Morris, 81

"I feel relieved," says Sid Morris, 81. "Especially since I knewI was right."

Morris, whoowns a quarter section of land north of Alix, refused to pay his Januarynatural gas bill because it was five times higher than normal.

Chain Lakes Gas Co-Op billed Morris $3,789 more than his entire bill for the previous year.

The co-opsent his meter fortesting and it was found to be working properly.

Morris didn't buy it and refused to pay.

The co-op agreed they was aminutechance his meter was innaccurate and reduced his bill by $1,400, but threatened to cut him off if he didn't pay the rest.

Morris had no choice but to make some payments, but refused to pay the remaining $700.

However,an inspector for Measurement Canada in Calgary heard the CBC News story in April and ordered that Morris's gas lines and meter be tested at the agency's Calgary lab.

The verdict is now in.The meter is indeed defective as three of the meter's spinning digits were able to freewheel, meaning the meter could not accurately measure the amount of gas flow.

Though Morris feels exonerated, he wonders why nobody told him he could appeal to Measurement Canada. Instead he was told as a customer of a gas co-op, he had norecourse for appeal.

Now Morris wants Measurement Canada's phone number on every co-op gas bill.

"The gas company should be informing their customers on their bill who to turn to ...if they have a problem with their billing."