Ontario Energy Company Has To Pay $2.6M Back To Customers & Here's Who's Getting Money
Customers were accidentally overcharged.
Electrical power lines in Ontario.
An Ontario energy company said a billing system error caused it to overcharge customers, a mistake it will be forced to rectify.
On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) revealed it had accepted an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) from Elexicon Energy Inc. after the company admitted it had overcharged customers "across all rate classes."
As a result, Elexicon will be forced to pay a penalty of $7,500 and provide a credit to its existing customers.
"Elexicon will provide current Veridian Rate Zone customers with a credit equivalent to four years of overcharges, totaling approximately $2,440,000," the press release states. "Elexicon will also provide current Whitby Rate Zone customers with a credit equivalent to the 15 months of overcharges, totaling approximately $218,000."
"These amounts will be paid through a one-time credit that will appear on customer bills within 90 days of the acceptance of this AVC by the OEB," it adds.
Elexicon will provide customers with an explanation via a form approved by the OEB. Additionally, the company fixed the overcharging for bills covering usage starting May 1, 2022.
If the company fails to abide by the terms of its AVC, the OEB said it would be forced to take further legal action. However, it's worth noting that the billing system error responsible for the overcharging has already been fixed.
The error was discovered earlier this year after the distribution of certain charges came to the OEB's attention.
"The OEB asked all electricity distributors to review their billing systems and advise the OEB if customers were being overcharged as a result of the same issue," the company added.
"All licensed electricity distributors must be rigorous in applying OEB-approved rates and calculating accurate billing amounts for their customers. Billing accuracy is foundational to customer trust and the OEB is assured that Elexicon has fixed this billing issue," Brian Hewson, Vice-President, Consumer Protection and Industry Performance, concluded in a statement.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.