Utility cuts off 74-year-old Toronto senior, powerless in heat wave

Maxine Stirling Dawe tries to enactment cool successful her one-bedroom flat but it’s not easy.

With nary powerfulness successful nan midst of a summertime power wave, nan stifling power is simply a situation for nan 74-year-old Toronto woman.

Toronto Hydro unopen disconnected her energy successful early May because her inferior measure was not paid successful full.

Stirling Dawe says she recognizes nan value of keeping her relationship successful bully opinionated and has ever tried to do truthful until recently.

“Oh, everybody does, it’s portion of life,” Stirling Dawe told Global News successful an interview.

The azygous senior, who lives alone, fell down successful her measure payments complete a play of respective months. She says she gave money to support her big boy and, arsenic a consequence, nan measure ballooned: it’s now much than $1,400.

So, successful April, Toronto Hydro served a disconnection notice. She says she was lying connected a stretcher successful nan emergency section astatine Sunnybrook Hospital erstwhile she received a telephone telephone from nan inferior asking for support to participate her flat building to present nan general document.

Soon after, nan electrical inferior trim disconnected her power. She says she’s been trying to get reconnected ever since.

“They wouldn’t springiness maine immoderate chance — they said they wanted each aliases nothing,” Stirling Dawe said.

Toronto Hydro declined to remark specifically connected her case, alternatively telling Global News: “we’re committed to supporting our customers successful immoderate measurement we tin to thief debar disconnection.”

“We besides activity pinch our customers to group up an Arrears Payment Agreement to thief them make monthly instalments toward their arrears balance,” Toronto Hydro firm spokesperson Daniel McNeil said successful an email.

Stirling Dawe told Global News she was not capable to entree a financial assistance programme intended to assistance low-income clients.

Toronto Hydro says it does not disconnect customers successful arrears betwixt Nov. 15 and April 30 because that could time off customers astatine consequence successful acold weather.

“Something we’re very concerned astir pinch nan changing ambiance — power tin beryllium conscionable arsenic deadly to group arsenic utmost cold,” said Theresa McClenaghan, executive head and lawyer astatine nan Canadian Environmental Law Association.

“We do person rules to protect group successful nan wintertime from disconnection because it’s Canada. We don’t deliberation it’s a bully thought to let group to spell without energy successful nan winter. We’re advocating that those aforesaid protections should use successful nan summertime because of nan utmost heat,” McClenaghan told Global News.

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The Ontario Energy Board, nan province’s regulator of energy and earthy gas, says it is “deeply committed to protecting nan interests of power consumers successful narration to their dealings pinch nan power companies that we regulate.”

A spokesperson told Global News it does truthful by “making and enforcing broad customers work rules that utilities must follow.”

The spokesperson wrote successful an email that “generally, a customer must beryllium provided pinch payments options, including an adjacent monthly costs plan.”

For 2 months, Stirling Dawe has sought respite from nan power by going to a nationalist library, a drugstore aliases anyplace other adjacent pinch aerial conditioning.

Although nan energy successful her flat is not connected, she says nan building superintendent allowed her to plug successful an hold cord successful nan hallway to powerfulness a instrumentality and recharge batteries during nan daytime.

She became affectional erstwhile talking astir her predicament, which won’t apt extremity until she tin fulfill Toronto Hydro’s demands.

“I ever paid my bills,” she said, wiping distant tears.

Lawyer Theresa McClenaghan, whose ineligible session assists low-income group and disadvantaged communities, points retired nan value of ensuring seniors for illustration Stirling Dawe person powerfulness successful their homes year-round.

“Electricity successful Canada is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. In fact, power has been defined successful immoderate circumstances arsenic a quality right.”