CANADA | Ombudsman saves Toronto man $20,000 in Hydro dispute

Toronto Ombudsman Kwame Addo says Toronto Hydro acted unfairly by holding a property owner responsible for approximately $20,000 worth of repairs to a hydro vault it never told him he owned.

Ombudsman Addo launched the investigation after receiving a complaint from Mr. A., who purchased a unit in a Toronto plaza in 1980. Unknown to him, there was a transformer on his property supplying electricity to the entire plaza. No one told Mr. A that by purchasing the property, he also assumed ownership of the underground vault that housed the transformer and that responsibility for maintaining the vault itself.

Addo’s report released on 12 April 2024, An Investigation into Toronto Hydro’s Process for Customer-Owned Infrastructure, found that Toronto Hydro did not inform Mr. A of the vault’s existence for 35 years, or of his responsibility for the repairs it required. The cost of these repairs totalled half Mr. A.’s annual salary. Ombudsman Addo says that “Mr. A. had no way of knowing prior to buying the unit about the additional obligations that came with the ownership of the property and Toronto Hydro did nothing to inform him until it was much too late. This was unfair.”

The investigation found Toronto Hydro has an inconsistent internal process for the establishment, inspection, maintenance, and enforcement of customer-owned infrastructure, such as hydro vaults. It found several problems with how the process was applied in Mr. A’s case, including that Toronto Hydro:

• Did not tell Mr. A. about his obligations concerning the vault, resulting in decades of accumulated repair costs.  
• Did not follow the law and notify Mr. A. before going on his property to inspect the vault, which allowed for Mr. A’s case to fall through the cracks.
• Inspectors do not refer to the results of previous inspections and provide conflicting directions on what needs to be repaired, which can result in additional costs and unnecessary anxiety for the customer.
• Ombudsman Addo made 13 recommendations to ensure, among other things, that Mr. A. is no longer responsible for the $20,000 of repairs. The recommendations will also improve the fairness, consistency, and transparency of how Toronto Hydro manages customer-owned infrastructure such as hydro vaults, so that other property owners don’t get hurt like Mr. A.

These recommendations include that Toronto Hydro should:

• Cover the cost of maintaining and repairing the vault on Mr. A.’s property.
• Establish a clearly defined process for customer-owned infrastructure and ensure that it is followed by all divisions and departments that are involved.
• Provide notice to customers of their ownership and responsibilities for customer-owned infrastructure. Toronto Hydro must also notify customers before any inspections, as is its legal obligation.
• Review its inspection practice to ensure there is continuity between each inspection and consistency over what is and is not considered a deficiency.

“Despite Toronto Hydro’s assertions,” says Ombudsman Addo, “The adage ‘buyer beware’ is not applicable in the case of Mr. A. He had no ability to protect himself from the unfairness he experienced.”

Toronto Hydro has accepted the Ombudsman’s report and agreed to fully implement 11 of the 13 recommendations.

To read the report, kindly refer to the download section below.

To read the full article, please click here.

Source: Ombudsman Toronto, Canada