Smart meter overbilling complaints investigated by Hydro-Qubec

Hydro-Qubec is looking intocomplaintsthat its new smart meters are overbillinghomeowners, following a CBC investigation.

The provincially ownedpower utility is in the process of installing close to 4 million next-generation meters across Quebec a switch the utilityhad claimed wouldsave it, and by proxy its customers, millions of dollars.

• Listen to CBC reporterSophie Tremblay's full report on Daybreak

But there is growing concern among homeowners that the new meters are doing exactly the opposite.

Marc Magendie lives in a two-storey home in Laval.

People are very anxious because the bill goes [up] twice or triple and they can't get clear answer from Hydro-Qubec- Marie-Michelle Poisson,RefusonsLesCompteurs

He says hes extremely careful with his electricity consumption, so he was shocked when his hydro bills doubled aftera new smart meter was installed.

Magendie got his first surprise in January when he received a bill for more than $1,000.Henormally pays between $450 and $500 for that same time period.

Magendie responded by reducing his electricity consumption even further.

I've got a programmable thermostat I don't use my dishwasher, I only do laundry once a week when they're full, I use a drying line.

But he saysit hasn't madea difference.

Magendie's bills have already cost him nearly $3,000 for this year. Normally, he says he pays an average of about $2,000 per year for electricity.

Hydro-Qubec stands by new meters

Hydro-Qubectold CBC News that it has received fewerthan a dozen complaints about the new meters.

In an interview, spokeswoman Isabelle Thellen said Hydro-Qubec investigated each complaint andfound nothing wrong with the smartmeters.

"The issue was consumption habits that had changed, or it was a case of estimated versus real consumption. In no casewas it a problem with the next-generation meter," Thellen told CBC News.

Thellen said consumption habits and climate are the two main causes of higher electricitybills.

In Magendie's case, Thellen said that Hydro-Qubec had estimated much of his consumption for the last five to six years because access to his meter wasblocked.

Of 45 bills issuedto Magendie during that period, Thellen said only15 were based on realconsumption.

She said the increasethat Magendieis reporting as a result of the new meters is the difference between estimated consumption and real consumption.

"Our smart meters are reliable,' Thellen said.

She said Hydro-Qubec customers with questions or complaints about the new meters should call customer service at 1-866-385-7272.

Some Hydro-Quebec customers, however,say they're having a hard time getting through.

Cold winter not to blame, Laval homeowner insists

Magendiesays when he called customer service,a representative blamed the high bills on the cold winter,but hesays that doesn't explain why his bills jumped in the spring and summer as well.

Marie-Michelle Poisson runs a group opposed to smart meterscalledRefusonsLesCompteurs.

She says she regularly receives emails complaining about unusually expensive bills.

People are very anxious because the bill goes [up] twice or triple, and they can't get clear answer fromHydro-Qubec, Poisson says.

Magendiesays he feels helpless.

For the time being,he plans to burnwood for heat this winter to help reduce his hydro bills.

Like most people, I'm running a very tight budget, and that increase is breaking me. I've got no money left to spendelsewhere, and I don't know how I'm going to pay those bills," he said.

Ontario investigates similar complaints

In Ontario, concerns over irregular billing related to the new meters haveprompted an investigation by the province's ombudsman.

So far, the ombudsman has received close to 8,000 complaints against Ontario's Hydro One.

In response to a request from CBC News,Hydro-Qubecsaid it will launchan investigation into the alleged overbilling.

Have your hydro bills jumped in the past year? Tweet us@CBCMontrealor comment below.

Did you know: If you think your bills are unfair, you cansend a written complaint to Hydro-Qubec. The company is required to respond within 60 days.