Hydro One has submitted a rate application to the Ontario Energy Board that <a href="http://www.qpbriefing.com/2017/11/22/hydro-one-seeks-use-prepay-meters-customers-arrears/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outlines a scenario in which the company could minimize its financial risk from customers in arrears by having them use pre-paid meters</a>, which will cut off customers' power until they're loaded up with more money.
But on Thursday, the company said that mischaracterizes its plans — it doesn't intend to use the prepaid meters for customers in arrears. It also would be a choice for customers to opt into, and customers wouldn't be cut off in the winter, Ferio Pugliese, executive vice-president of customer care and corporate affairs, told QP Briefing.
"We're not in the business of disconnecting people. What's more important to us is keeping people connected," he said. "This is just an example of another choice we would offer a customer should they chose it."
Right now, the use of the meters is "just a concept" and he said it's been taken out of context by the NDP, he said.
However, Pugliese also said the company's own rate application paints a different picture than its true plans for the technology. At an upcoming hearing on the application Hydro One will explain to the OEB how it actually plans to use the technology.
"That description, unfortunately, is a pretty generic description of what the technology is and how it's been used," Pugliese said. 
"It doesn't put it into the context — the true, pure context of how we would actually employ and use it," he said. "And I'm telling you that we are going to go on record and we are right here and right now stating that is in no way shape or form how we would apply the use of that technology. It's purely going to be used as a matter of choice."
The section of the rate application on prepaid metres is entitled "Collection Enhancements," which focuses on the increasing problem of overdue accounts in Ontario, and posits prepaid meters as a potential solution, pending OEB approval.
"One method of enabling customer control of their electricity consumptions, while in arrears condition, and minimizing Hydro One Network’s financial risk, is through the use of prepaid meters," the rate application says. "Prepaid meters are a type of energy meter that requires users to pay for energy before using it ... With a prepaid meter, electricity is paid upfront. Once the prepaid amount is used up, power is cut off until the customer is able to load the meter with more credits."
Instead, Pugliese said Hydro One could use the meters to notify Hydro One to ping the customer and let them know the meter is low, or out of credit, and the meter wouldn't turn off the power in the winter.
The NDP raised the issue in Question Period on Wednesday and Thursday this week, calling on the government to ban the use of prepaid meters in Ontario, so families don't go without power when they can't afford to feed the meter.
Talking to reporters, Thibeault said Hydro One had informed him the use of the meters would be a choice. He gave the example of a person using the prepaid meters at their 'hunt camp' cabin because they're only there part of the year — not because they're a customer in arrears — and said people in Northern Ontario, rather than Southern Ontario, would understand that.
"An example that I use in my part of the world, we have hunt camps," he said. "Somebody who only goes in September, October, maybe they would like to see something like this, where they can opt-in and have two months of electricity."
Thibeault denied that the choice would be between getting no power and choosing a prepaid meter, and he said the meters won't lead to people being cut off from power in the winter.
NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns said he believes that those customers who "opt in" actually won't have much of a choice at all, if they're in arrears.
"I think they're going to be told that if they want power, they can have a prepaid meter and if they don't want power, well that's fine, we'll just go on with life as it is," he said.
Tabuns maintained that the rate application makes it clear that Hydro One wants to use prepaid meters to deal with people in arrears, and he wasn't satisfied with Thibeault's answer on that front.
"To shrug that off is just very low-quality spin — or maybe it's high-quality spin, but it's meant to deflect," he said.
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You can read that section of the rate application below:
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Hydro One says its rate application mischaracterizes its potential plans for prepaid meters

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