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."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quake deaths pass 5,000 as Turkiye, Syria seek survivors
Rescuers raced Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkiye and neighboring Syria, with the discovery of more bodies raising the death toll to more than 5,000.

Will Biden's second state of the union mark a less protectionist approach to Canada?
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of isolationism and protectionist policies.
Thieves cut huge hole in Ottawa restaurant wall to get at jewelry store next door
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
New details emerge ahead of Trudeau-premiers' health-care meeting
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
Why wasn't the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over Canada?
Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America. The alleged surveillance device initially approached North America near Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.
Mendicino: foreign-agent registry would need equity lens, could be part of 'tool box'
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says a registry to track foreign agents operating in Canada can only be implemented in lockstep with diverse communities.
Quebec minister 'surprised' asylum seekers given free bus tickets from New York City
Quebec's immigration minister says she was 'surprised' to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.
Vaccine intake higher among people who knew someone who died of COVID-19: U.S. survey
A U.S. survey found that people who had a personal connection to someone who became ill or died of COVID-19 were more likely to have received at least one shot of the vaccine compared to those who didn’t have any loved ones who had been impacted by the disease.
opinion | Don Martin: Alarms going off over health-care privatization? Such an out-of-touch waste of hot political air
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'