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Kingsville councillor expected to call for review at E.L.K Energy

Citing frequent power disruptions, poor customer service, and long delays, a town councillor in Kingsville wants a review at E.L.K. Energy.

Kimberly DeYong had planned to introduce a notice of motion on Monday night at Kingsville Town Council's meeting. In an email to BlackburnNews.com, she said she asked for a deferral until the next council meeting on October 12. She did not say why.

The motion calls on the Town of Essex to compel leadership at the utility to review its electricity supply, investigate why it is unreliable, and why it is "unresponsive to customer complaints and concerns." The Town of Essex owns the utility.

DeYong did say in a second email that there have been many complaints about E.L.K.

"Concerns from residents pertain to the uncertainty and unreliability of the hydro service; trees interfering with hydro lines; damaged electronics due to flickering; businesses concerned about lost revenue with outages, damaged equipment and spoiled inventory," wrote DeYong. "I hear from residents and businesses that their inquiries to E.L.K. go unanswered."

Should that fail to resolve the ongoing issues, DeYong wants Kingsville's administrative staff to report back to the council on other options, including filing a complaint with the Ontario Energy Board.

She wrote local businesses have suffered economic hardship, family lives have been disrupted, people are stressed, and electronic equipment has been damaged.

But it isn't just residents in Kingsville who have concerns about E.L.K. It is residents across the utility's distribution area, the Town of Kingsville, and the Town of Lakeshore.

Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain, March 2019. Photo provided by Town of Lakeshore.

"Our residents are not happy," said Bain. "It doesn't seem to be as reliable as it should be. The slightest storm puts their hydro out. It's not a major storm, and yet, they're having problems. The number of outages has increased lately, and this is also a concern."

He said Lakeshore as called E.L.K repeatedly and sent a letter. While Lakeshore was told their concerns would be investigated, Bain said, "We really haven't gotten answers to our problems."

He wondered if the utility's infrastructure is inadequate to meet the demands of its customers.

"Do we need new lines?. Do we need replacements of those lines? Is it transformer problems?" he said.

In May 2017, E.L.K agreed to undergo a regulatory audit, an operational review, and an asset condition assessment after withdrawing an application to change its electricity distribution rates.

E.L.K.'s Chief Financial Officer, Cheryl Tratechaud, admitted she was surprised to hear DeYong planned to introduce the notice of motion. She said the councillor had never called her with her concerns. She also insisted Bain had never contacted the utility.

"I don't have any correspondence from him and I have not received a phone call from him, directly," Tratechaud said. She said she received three emails and one call about a storm last week that knocked out power to much of the county.

Tratechaud suggested more severe weather recently may account for an increase in power outages. She also hinted it is possible construction on a new Hydro One line between Chatham and Lakeshore may have an impact.

DeYong's notice of motion said developers in town have trouble getting their projects connected to the E.L.K. power supply, and "felt that their questioning about unreasonable delays has resulted in being 'blacklisted' and facing reprisals from E.L.K. staff who seem to operate with impunity."

The town also requested a road use agreement that DeYong wrote, "E.L.K. has ignored or refused to sign." She said the refusal has put residents at risk of injury when work is undertaken on town property without public notice.

Tratechaud said she did not know about the town's request.

Essex Mayor Larry Snively speaks at a groundbreaking on June 16, 2021. Photo provided by Town of Essex. Essex Mayor Larry Snively speaks at a groundbreaking on June 16, 2021. Photo provided by Town of Essex.

Reached for his response, Essex Mayor and E.L.K. board member Larry Snively insisted the utility cannot be responsible for the weather. He was emphatic the number of power outages has decreased and denied allegations it suffered poor customer service.

"That's not true. That's not true at all. That's false information. That is not true," said Snively. "We respond to complaints."

He also suggested a member of his municipal council was spreading misinformation about the utility.

Essex Councillor Sherry Bondy attends the regular meeting of council on August 22, 2016. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza) Essex Councillor Sherry Bondy attends the regular meeting of council on August 22, 2016. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)

In July, Essex councillor Sherry Bondy was docked 30 days pay for allegedly harassing employees at E.L.K. Energy, posting negative comments about them on social media, and recording a video of herself on the utility's property.

The penalty followed an investigation by Integrity Commissioner Robert Swayze who looked into a complaint from Snively.

When the recommendation to penalize Bondy went before Essex Town Council, Snively, Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche, along with councillors Morley Bowman and Chris Vander Doelen voted in favour of the recommendation. The Town of Essex website lists them as members of the utility's board of directors.

Bondy never denied posting criticisms of the utility but stated she was only sharing the frustration of residents.

She had been a member of the board too until she quit, explaining she felt muzzled and endured harassment when she questioned decisions.

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