Orillia Power customers will soon be getting their final bills from the local utility before switching to Hydro One.
Hydro One’s deal to purchase Orillia Power’s distribution arm closed Sept. 1, 2020, and customers will start to receive their new bills from Hydro One in June, around the same time they would usually receive their current bills.
On Wednesday, Hydro One’s vice-president of customer service, Spencer Gill, provided a briefing to local media to explain what customers can expect with the changeover.
“Customers don’t need to worry. We’ve done all the work since September to make sure that we have a seamless (transition),” Gill said.
That transition to the Hydro One system will include pre-authorized payments and equal payment plans. If customers are currently receiving their bills online, that will continue. If they are on the Ontario Electricity Support Program, that will also be automatically transferred.
Customers will notice a one-time billing adjustment on their first bill to reflect their electricity consumption during the last cycle with Orillia Power. That’s because when Orillia Power would receive a meter reading, it would take longer to issue a bill. That process is “much shorter” for Hydro One, Gill said.
“While the transition is going to be seamless and customers don’t need to worry about it, there is a synchronization that has to happen between the two systems — the Orillia (Power) and the Hydro One systems — and there will be a one-time billing adjustment,” he said. “We recognize that customers may not be expecting this, which is why we want to explain this to folks today.”
If that poses any problems for customers, Hydro One has options. It is offering an interest-free payment plan for those additional days of consumption.
Subsequent bills will reflect the normal billing cycle — an average of 30 days.
With Hydro One, customers can choose their own due dates for their bills and can monitor their consumption. They can also find out about outages via the storm centre outage map, and they can report outages online and receive texts and emails about outages.
Hydro One also launched its Connected for Life program in February.
“Our main message is that we’re here to help during these times. We actually proactively help customers reach funding options, including extended payment plans,” Gill said.
Connected for Life is “effectively for anyone who finds themselves struggling,” he said.
Since launching the program, “we’ve had several customers call in, several businesses,” he added, noting Hydro One has a small-business relief program.
Gill provided an example of what customers’ bills will look like with Hydro One.
Three boxes across the top will show the balance owing, how much electricity was consumed and when the payment is due. The bill also includes updates and special offers, and breaks down a customer’s consumption.
“This is a new bill and we’ve found that it works very well for our customers in terms of how they like to receive the information,” Gill said.
The company is “really looking forward to joining the community in Orillia,” he added.
“We are a company that’s committed to giving back and supporting the communities we serve,” he said, noting Hydro One partnered with the Orillia District Chamber of Commerce late last year for the Light Up Orillia event. “We’re also looking for many other ways to bring light to the Sunshine City.”
Hydro One is building a control centre in west Orillia. It is expected to be finished by the end of the year. Two other facilities — a provincial warehouse and a regional operations centre — are still in the planning process.
