After ten years of hard work, Ritesh Kumar finally saved enough money to buy a place in St. Catharines, Ont., where he envisioned opening his own cozy coffee shop along with a few rental apartments upstairs.
However, before he could serve his first cup of coffee, Enbridge Gas Inc. sent him an astonishing bill for $56,589 for services rendered between July 2021 and December 2023 – just after Kumar bought the property but before the café’s opening in July 2024.
“I totally panicked,” said Kumar.
Kumar explained that during those years, no one from Enbridge reached out to inspect the property or inform him about any gas usage. Meanwhile, he was busy securing city approvals and managing renovations.
Kumar has spent over two years challenging Enbridge while running Christopher’s Cafe and becoming a dad.
He filed his first complaint with Enbridge on January 9, 2024.
Later on, he received an email from the company’s customer service team stating that his account had been incorrectly billed due to faulty meter readings, which Enbridge confirmed to CBC.
Others also faced billing problems
Kumar isn’t alone; many customers have encountered issues with their Enbridge bills over the last five years.
A couple in Ajax, Ont., was charged more than $1,600 in 2023 because of sporadic meter readings and inaccurate estimates by the company.
The Ontario Energy Board, which regulates energy in the province, looked into these complaints and fined Enbridge $250,000 in 2022 for not meeting specific standards related to meter reading.
Kumar got a new meter installed in October 2024 but still saw the $56,589 charge appear on his monthly gas bill. He then reached out to the office of Enbridge’s ombudsman.
‘There was no furnace,’ Kumar says
Jessie Foster, a senior analyst at Enbridge’s Ombuds Office responded to Kumar’s concerns by saying they obtained readings from July 2021 when he acquired the property.
“Readings that have been provided to us confirm the consumption billed is valid,” read their email.
The ombudsman’s office also noted they had turned off services in October 2022 and July 2023 “as consumption was being used but not being paid for.”
Kumar found this response confusing.
“How can they have a gas bill? First of all, there was no furnace here.”</pp
Built back in 1938, the old building relied on hot-water radiators for heating instead of furnaces. In early 2023, he hired Enercare to install five new energy-efficient furnaces – one for each apartment unit and another for the café as part of his renovation project.</pp
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Kumar says the furnaces were installed as renovations neared completion in 2023. Before that, the building used hot-water radiators for heating. (Diona Macalinga/CBC)
Kumar’s current gas meter tracks consumption at both his coffee shop and four occupied apartments upstairs.
His monthly gas expenses can range from $100 to $700 during winter months based on reports he’s shown CBC through his online account with Enbridge.
In some instances, he’s even overpaid his gas bill just to build credit with them.
“I’m a small business owner. I have a baby,” said Kumar. “I don’t know what to do next.”
Then came an email from Enbridge on February 3 responding to inquiries made by CBC – it included surprising news for Kumar.
“After connecting directly with the customer and completing a detailed review of the account, we can confirm that the previously reported charge was not correct,” wrote Enbridge spokesperson Chloe Mills.
She added “our investigation determined that the high balance was due to inaccurate meter readings.”
This adjustment brought Kumar’s bill down significantly from $56,589 to “an outstanding balance of approximately $6,200.”
The company stated it had “spoken directly with the customer who has confirmed that this issue has been resolved satisfactorily.”
Kumar still isn’t convinced he’s completely satisfied though.”I am still questioning the $6,000 gas bill and do not agree with this amount particularly given that the building was vacant during this time.”
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