A Mapleton man believes excessive voltage being delivered to his property by Hydro One is causing damage and council here is supporting his efforts to rectify the situation.
Bruce McClure told council at the Oct. 9 meeting that shortly after purchasing his property in December of 2011, he installed a geo-thermal heating system. Since he started using the system, McClure said the system compressor has burned out twice and a fan motor has burned out once. The second time the compressor burned out, burnt refrigerant gases resulted in contamination of the system, which had to be replaced.
McClure said that, to date, system repairs have cost him $20,000 and he has a new $30,000 HVAC and air purifications system “that I can’t risk turning on because of unreliable voltage levels being delivered from Hydro One.”
McClure said Hydro One has replaced the transformer at his house, but the problem has not been resolved. He says that Hydro One, the Electrical Safety Authority, the Canadian Standards Association and the Ontario Energy Board, all deny a problem exists with the voltage levels being delivered to his house.
McClure told council he has received the support of Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece, who has written to Ontario Energy Minister Chris Bentley on his behalf.
“Can a I get a letter of support from you?” he asked council.
Mayor Bruce Whale noted “this is something we have very little control over as a municipal council,” and suggested McClure consider obtaining a report from an electrician and present his case through the Ontario Ombudsman’s office or other such venue.
Council supported a motion from councillor Jim Curry to prepare a letter in support of the correspondence from Pettapiece to the Ministry of Energy on McClure’s behalf.
“We hope you can get it corrected,” Whale told McClure.
