Hydro One extends ban on electricity disconnections until further notice
TORONTO -
Ontario's primary electricity provider says it's extending a ban on disconnecting homes from the power grid until further notice.
Hydro One first issued the ban towards the beginning of the province's COVID-19 outbreak, saying customers needed to be able to rely on electricity while they were kept at home during the pandemic.
A spokesman for the utility says the ban was initially set to expire at the end of July, but has now been extended without a fixed end-date.
Hydro One says the move is necessary given the ongoing restrictions posed by the pandemic, as well as persistent hot weather across much of the province.
It says it's also planning to extend a financial relief program to help customers struggling to pay their hydro bills.
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WINNIPEG - The Consumers Coalition is urging the Public Utilities Board (PUB) to reject Manitoba Hydro’s current interim rate increase application.
Hydro is requesting a five per cent jump in electricity rates starting on January 1, claiming drought conditions warrant the increase but the coalition disagrees, saying a two per cent increase would be sufficient.
The coalition, which includes Harvest Manitoba, the Consumers’ Association of Canada-Manitoba, and the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, said a 5 per cent rate increase would put an unnecessary strain on consumer budgets, especially for those on fixed incomes or living up north.
"We feel that, in many ways,…
