Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
His electricity provider, Alectra Utilities, wants him to pay $27,000 for the repair.
“They want $27,000,” Paul Willis of Brampton said. “And then I have to pay another contractor to run the final 80 feet and that’s about another $5,000.”
Willis started building his garage in November 2021 with the help of a contractor. Willis said that at the start of the project, the contractor dug too deep, severing a hydro cable.
Homeowners are legally required to contact Ontario One – a free, non-profit agency that works with utilities to make sure no damage is done to underground gas pipes, communications networks, power lines or individuals – before beginning a digging project.
The agency’s CEO, Jim Keech, says that “the whole process is to make sure when you dig, be it with a shovel or major equipment, you’re aware of the infrastructure and don’t hit it.”
However, Willis says that he did contact Ontario One, and that his contractor didn’t follow the agency’s instructions.
“I’ve sued the contractor,” Willis said. “The problem is he has ignored the suit, he has ignored my lawyer and he has ignored me.”
Since November 2021, Alectra has repaired the hydro line two times. Both times, the line broke, leaving Willis with a temporary hydro line that he says needs to be replaced.
He is currently receiving power from a hydro pole line that is running over the ground with multiple splices connected to his home.
Willis says that he’s been told to pay the fee, or the hydro company is going to shut off his power.
In a statement to CTV News, a Alectra Utilities spokesperson said that they are aware of the situation and that their records indicate that the existing line was damaged by the third-party contractor.
“In response, our crews promptly addressed the issue with an emergency connection and provided the customer with an estimate of approximately $27,000 to replace the damaged line with an upgraded infrastructure in order to meet existing safety and electrical standards,” it reads.
Willis says that he doesn’t feel that he should have to pay the entire cost, and is hoping to find a compromise between all parties.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.