Christmas is back on for the Lye-Lee family in Smiths Falls, thanks to the generosity of many. The Lye-Lees had cancelled the holiday , faced with mounting Hydro One bills. They made a difficult decision to put their Christmas money towards paying down a hydro bill that had climbed to more than $38-hundred dollars. The Lye-Lees say they were not looking for hand-outs in coming forward to CTV with their story. They simply wanted to highlight the difficulty facing many residents in Eastern Ontario who are struggling with hydro costs that are continually increasing.
Our story last Friday prompted an outpouring of support for the Lye-Lees, including a thousand dollar payment from their children's high school, Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute, which went directly towards their hydro bill. Teachers and staff collected another thousand dollars for gift cards for the Lye-Lees’ 4 teenagers. Ken Lye-Lee says the family was overwhelmed by the generosity and added that they are grateful for what they have and understand there are many people in this province who will not even have a Christmas dinner this week.
“If I’m in this position and I’m working,” Lye-Lee said in a phone interview, “what about those with a disability, seniors, single parents? How are they paying their hydro bills?”With monthly hydro bills they say between $800 and $1000, the Lye-Lees had fallen behind, prompting Ken Lye-Lee to take on a second job. This month, they received a disconnection notice threatening to reduce, interrupt or terminate their hydro between December 20 and December 30."Other times we've gotten loans to cover hydro bills,” said Debbie Lye-Lee last week “and still have some money for Christmas but we're at the point where we can't even do that anymore.
It’s a story we are hearing from Hydro One customers all over Eastern Ontario; customers like David Baker near Prescott.
"I want some action, I want Hydro One to come and help me.”
"I'd like to start off by apologizing on behalf of Hydro One,” said Hydro One CEO Carmine Marcello Friday in a phone interview from Toronto. Marcello said the problem isn't with the smart meters but with billing.
"The issue is that a small percentage of bills have been more complex than we anticipated. We put on additional resources working through holiday season to clear it up.
Ken Lye-Lee believes the Ontario government needs to address the issue of hydro costs. Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli wasn’t available for an interview on Friday.
