The Ontario Ombudsman has condemned Hydro One in the most astonishing language ever heard from a civil servant, albeit a high-ranking one. Today Andre Marin used words like deceit and extortion (as reported by the CBC in the video above). The Hydro Board and Minister of Energy were “lied to” by Hydro One management when they tried to inquire about complaints. And, it seems clear the huge government agency was hardly better than a pick-up team of first-year science students when it came to launching a new billing system. It went off the track and according to the Ombudsman there was no Plan B. Ordinary residential users were charged hundreds of thousands of dollars for the power being used by a nearby gold mine. CFB Trenton received a bill for $50 million for one month. Some customers who in good conscience refused to pay, had money removed from their bank accounts. It is such an unbelievable display of incompetence that some are asking again if it is safe to leave Ontario Hydro in the hands of engineers. Twenty years ago Ontario Hydro was carved into pieces when it was decided that the engineering management had gotten lost in the machinery. Carmine Marcello, the president and CEO of Hydro One has admitted to the billing madness and ruthless treatment of some customers.
