Harbour Grace woman says Newfoundland Power needs to be held accountable after bill increases

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 10, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: March 10

A Harbour Grace woman, who has seen her powerfulness measure balloon successful caller months, says she wants to spot Newfoundland Power held accountable by Newfoundland and Labrador's Public Utilities Board.

Tricia Muldoon moved to Harbour Grace from Ontario successful September. She says her powerfulness measure was manageable erstwhile she archetypal moved in, but it's grown to astir $900 a period with small answers from Newfoundland's energy utility. 

"Every period since then, it's gone up by $200-$300. Every azygous month. And the usage is saying that we're utilizing thousands of much watts each month," Muldoon told CBC News Friday.

"When I got the adjacent bill, it said I had gone up conscionable implicit 2,000 watts successful usage. And I thought, that's not possible."

Muldoon says her powerfulness meter reading was close and matched what she was billed, but she inactive isn't definite what tin warrant specified an increase — particularly erstwhile she has taken extended efforts to little her usage.

She maintains the somesthesia successful her 2,000 sq. ft home astatine 16 degrees, she said, and has her lights connected timers.

"There's thing other we could bash to trim this cost," she said.

"It besides makes maine deliberation astir anyone who is making minimum wage. There's nary mode that they could wage this benignant of thing. It feels similar you're being taken vantage of."

And Muldoon isn't alone.

As antecedently reported by CBC News, many Newfoundland and Labrador residents are facing akin staggering costs for power this winter.

Muldoon says the accrued outgo has enactment her relationship equilibrium astatine astir $1,800 — simply because her household can't wage the precocious bills each astatine once.

"It's astir our spot taxes for the year, and it can't beryllium right," she said.

Newfoundland Power, owned by Fortis Inc., is the superior energy distributor successful the province.

On Thursday, the PUB asked the institution to record a report connected however it ensures the accuracy of meter readings and analyse whether billing errors could person occurred fixed a precocious measurement of complaints to the board.

It besides called connected Newfoundland Power to stock further measures it plans to instrumentality to supply customers with outgo flexibility and amended communication.

Muldoon says thing similar outgo flexibility sounds bully connected paper, but wouldn't service arsenic a semipermanent fix.

"It's similar a Band-Aid fix, due to the fact that you're inactive going to beryllium owing that money. So you're inactive struggling, you're conscionable possibly struggling a small longer, really," she said. "Because the adjacent measure is coming in, right? The adjacent bill's coming, and we cognize it's not going to beryllium less."

She says she wants to spot Newfoundland Power reappraisal its meters to guarantee readings are close and functioning properly, and research the imaginable of complaint changes during non-peak hours of the day.

Reasoning not bully enough

When contacted by CBC News connected Thursday, Newfoundland Power spokesperson Glenda Power said the institution welcomed the accidental from the PUB to code concerns.

Power precocious said the winter's acold temperatures and precocious winds apt play a origin successful bills expanding each season — as heating systems person to enactment harder to support a dependable somesthesia wrong the home.

Muldoon said that reasoning isn't bully enough.

"Newfoundland has ever been windy.… If you question it, adjacent for a second, it conscionable doesn't look similar it flies," she said.

"I privation them held accountable to everybody successful this province."

The PUB said it expects Newfoundland Power's findings to beryllium reported to the committee by March 21.

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