Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line

An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.

An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.

His electricity provider, Alectra Utilities, wants him to pay $27,000 for the repair.

“They want $27,000,” Paul Willis of Brampton said. “And then I have to pay another contractor to run the final 80 feet and that’s about another $5,000.”

Willis started building his garage in November 2021 with the help of a contractor. Willis said that at the start of the project, the contractor dug too deep, severing a hydro cable.

Homeowners are legally required to contact Ontario One – a free, non-profit agency that works with utilities to make sure no damage is done to underground gas pipes, communications networks, power lines or individuals – before beginning a digging project.

The agency’s CEO, Jim Keech, says that “the whole process is to make sure when you dig, be it with a shovel or major equipment, you’re aware of the infrastructure and don’t hit it.”

However, Willis says that he did contact Ontario One, and that his contractor didn’t follow the agency’s instructions.