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
'It was a nightmare': 2 children dead, driver charged after city bus crashes into Laval daycare
Two four-year-old children are dead and a man has been charged with first-degree murder after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The driver, 51-year-old Pierre Ny St-Amand, was arrested at the scene and faces two counts of first-degree murder and several other charges.

New one-and-done therapy can help curb severe COVID-19 infection: Canadian-led study
A Canadian-led study of a new potential antiviral therapy shows a single dose can help cut the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
Netflix Canada begins password sharing crackdown
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
Trust in governments shows signs of life as pandemic starts to fade
An annual survey on how trusting Canadians are suggests their faith in governments is rebounding as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to fade.
North Korea nuclear arsenal in parade attended by Kim Jong Un's daughter
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his young daughter took centre stage at a huge military parade, fuelling speculation that she is being primed as a future leader of the isolated country as her father showed off his latest, largest nuclear missiles.
opinion | Before you do your taxes, take note of these tax credits and deductions you may not have known about
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
Health-care workers have new hand-washing guidelines. Here's how you can apply them
The way respiratory viruses have circulated this fall and winter, most Canadians could probably benefit from a hand-hygiene refresher. Here are the latest hand-washing best practices to apply in your daily life.
Bank of Canada releases details on interest rate decision for the first time
The Bank of Canada released a summary of its Governing Council meetings on Wednesday, providing the public and financial institutions with more insight into the central bank’s decision to raise its key interest rate on Jan. 25.
5 key takeaways from the BoC's first summary of interest rate deliberations
In a first for the Bank of Canada, it has released a summary of deliberations by its governing council regarding its policy decision to raise its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 per cent in January. Here are five key takeaways from those discussions.