Tenants in a downtown Toronto Community Housing development are struggling to cope after being slapped with unexpectedly high hydro bills this winter. In some cases the bills were hundreds of dollars more than their rent, and several residents say having to make the payments left them without money for other essentials such as food.

Winifred Hendricks is one of the affected residents of Simcoe St. Patrick, a two-tower TCHC complex near Dundas St. W and University Ave. The 89-year-old lives by herself in a one-bedroom apartment, but despite her modest circumstances she recently received a bill from Toronto Hydro for $641.37.

“I was shocked when I saw it,” she said of the charge, which covered a two-month period between Dec. 19 and Feb. 23. Hendricks lives on a fixed income of about $1,500 a month, $461 of which goes toward rent. She also has regular medical expenses related to diabetes. “When I pay that [hydro bill] and I pay my rent, I have nothing to eat!” she exclaimed.

Mai Hoang, who also lives alone in a one-bedroom, received a bill for $596.31. The 85-year-old, who pays $376 in rent, said that when the hydro payment was automatically deducted from her bank account she had “no money for food.”

The high bills appear to be a pattern — one 65-year-old woman had a bill for $554.15, while a widower living alone in a two-bedroom apartment was charged $708.54.

Lisa Gregg, Simcoe St. Patrick’s tenant representative, believes inadequate insulation around apartment windows and doors, coupled with the building’s electric heating system, is to blame. “The units are not properly sealed,” she said. “The heat is escaping.”

But TCHC spokesperson Sara Goldvine suggests the two buildings are in fine shape. The complex underwent energy efficiency upgrades in 2011, which included new weather-stripping, and the agency’s latest building assessment determined the windows are in good condition and won’t need to be replaced until 2026.

“We have a pretty robust energy efficiency program,” Goldvine said.

Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tori Gass wouldn’t comment on whether the bills were excessive, but said the agency was expecting an increase in power consumption this winter because of the unusually cold weather. Gass advised that any residents who believe they’ve been overcharged should call the company and ask for their usage to be audited. Low-income residents might also be eligible for provincial financial assistance, which provides qualified households with a one-time grant of up to $500.

The plight of Simcoe St. Patrick tenants sheds light on a little-known inequity at Canada’s biggest social housing agency. As a result of a patchwork of arrangements TCHC inherited when it was formed from several housing agencies in 2002, most of its tenants pay an artificially low fixed rate for utilities, and the housing agency pays the actual cost to Toronto Hydro (for instance, tenants in a standard two-bedroom unit pay only $34 a month). The remaining 18 per cent of tenants, or roughly 10,000 households, are billed directly by Toronto Hydro for whatever power they use. The result is wildly different hydro costs among tenants.

A report that went before the TCHC board last year noted that tenants who pay directly have complained that the two-tiered system is unfair, and “many are struggling with being able to afford the inflating cost of Hydro.” Moving all tenants to the fixed-rate system would cost TCHC between $10 million and $12 million a year.

MORE

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Inside Toronto Community Housing's uphill battle

Here is a house on fire: Fiorito