Moncton man still waiting for a refund 6 months after meter mix-up discovered

Silas Brown · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 14, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

After paying the incorrect powerfulness measure for much than 4 years and six months aft discovering the antithetic error, a Moncton antheral is inactive waiting for his refund.

"It shouldn't instrumentality six months to fig out," Darren James said. 

"It's precise frustrating ... we're inactive putting wealth distant for the powerfulness bill. But astatine the aforesaid time, we don't cognize if it's enough, if it's excessively much."

James moved into a recently built duplex successful August 2020, with his neighbours moving successful soon afterwards. Neither realized that erstwhile their powerfulness meters were installed, they were tied to the incorrect address. 

WATCH | This antheral has waited 6 months for a refund connected his N.B. Power bill: 

James rapidly recovered that his powerfulness bills were higher than helium expected and they kept rising, nary substance what helium did to effort and chopped consumption. 

"It seemed a tenable amount, but past astatine the extremity of the twelvemonth it accrued by a important amount. So we're like, OK, we'll standard backmost connected what we're using, support the vigor a small lower, possibly usage baseboards less, usage the vigor pump a spot much and effort and support it truthful that we're comfy and it's affordable," helium said.

"Then we get our extremity of the twelvemonth bill. We're beneath again, we beryllium more. It continued connected similar that for 4 years."

Meanwhile his neighbours — who were receiving James's measure — saw their measure proceed to autumn portion not changing their powerfulness depletion habits. 

The mistake was recovered successful January erstwhile a technician arrived to instal caller astute meters. But now, astir 7 months later, New Brunswick Power has yet to close the billing mistake oregon adjacent alteration the meters to guarantee they are decently tied to the 2 units.

"No one's reached retired to america from N.B. Power to accidental erstwhile we get this sorted out, you tin get your astute meters," helium said.

"They haven't acceptable thing up to close the problem."

N.B. Power maintains that metre issues are rare, but with 280,000 meters changed successful the past fewer years arsenic portion of the province-wide astute metre rollout, mistakes bash happen. 

The inferior told CBC News that erstwhile an contented is discovered they enactment with the lawsuit to close it and supply an due remedy. 

"If a metre mix-up is detected we strive to close it wrong a 30-day billing cycle," said spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser.

"Depending connected the magnitude of clip and complexity of the situation, the correction whitethorn instrumentality longer. If a mistake does happen, we enactment with the lawsuit to marque it close and purpose to support them informed."

James says he's been frustrated by the deficiency of proactive connection since the mistake was discovered. He says each clip he's called successful the past 3 months, lawsuit work representatives told him that these types of mistakes instrumentality clip to fix. 

"They cognize wherever the 2 meters are," James said.

"If they couldn't find 1 of them, that would beryllium understandable; if determination was a occupation with the billing system, but the bills came connected clip for 5 years."

In galore cases, erstwhile meters are mixed up, customers person credits connected their account. But James says helium wants to beryllium paid the difference. 

"We don't truly privation a recognition from N.B. Power due to the fact that we've paid that money. I privation my wealth back," helium said.

"I mightiness not needfully enactment successful this area. I mightiness permission the province, past I've got a recognition from N.B. Power. If I had my wealth back, I could usage that for immoderate I wanted to usage it for."