Arnprior homeowner claims unfair compensation from Hydro One

A new homeowner in Arnprior is out nearly $2,000 after having to fix his furnace and replace the thermostat in his newly built home.

Joshua Larocque was one of dozens of Arnprior homeowners who had their appliances fried in an August 7 power outage and surge.

"For the furnace, our blower motor went. And the thermostat, when they came to replace the blower motor, was also diagnosed as also having been fried," Larocque tells CTV News.

At the time, the outage was labelled an act of god, but now Hydro One, the service provider for the town of Arnprior, is offering $1,000 to those residents affected as compensation.

Larocque says he had the repairs made, and sent the invoice to Hydro One as proof.

But Larocque still hasn't been compensated. The catch - homeowners were told to file their damages through their insurance providers.

"I didn't want to do that and risk my insurance premiums go up when I've been in the home less than 30 days at this point," he says.

"So I didn't want to claim something just so soon. But on the flip side I didn't necessarily think I'd be phased out or not considered."

In a statement to CTV News, Hydro One said, "Although our maintenance on this powerline was up-to-date, we continue to work with customers who have chosen to make a claim through their home insurance to cover the cost of the deductible."

In a statement to CTV News, Hydro One said, "Although our maintenance on this powerline was up-to-date, we continue to work with customers who have chosen to make a claim through their home insurance to cover the cost of the deductible."

 

"It stated that this was a "good will gesture" and that doesn't sit well with me," said Larocque.

"If you're going to do that then you should have it equitable amongst your entire client base."

Hydro One goes on to say that it continues to encourage affected customers to contact customer care.

"Whether we paid repairs or deductible shouldn't matter if I can prove that it's all related."