Unpaid bill prompts power cut at RV Park, leaving residents in the dark

People living at Maple Grove RV Park in Guelph-Eramosa Township have been left in the dark. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte explains.

People living at the Maple Grove RV Park in Guelph-Eramosa Township say hydro service was disconnected earlier this week, leaving their trailers without lights, air conditioning or any other electrical service.

“This would be the third day,” resident Robert Ryan told CTV News on Friday.

He said the prolonged outage is becoming increasingly difficult as the weather warms up.

“And it’s only getting hotter. People have pets, children. There’s elderly people with medical devices that require power that are not having essential services provided to them.”

While some residents have generators, Ryan said they are being used sparingly due to fuel costs.

“We’ve been trying to just run it a couple hours in the morning to charge up the battery and charge up devices,” he explained.

Ryan said neighbours have also been sharing generator power, where possible, but many residents live on a fixed or limited income and cannot afford gasoline expenses.

Manager says hydro disconnected over unpaid bill

Dave Grose, the park’s property manager, confirmed that the electricity was disconnected because of an unpaid account.

“Hydro has been shut off for non-payment of bill,” he said.

Grose explained that the situation is tied to longer-running disputes at the park, including unresolved sewage problems that he says have existed for years. According to Grose, some tenants have withheld paying rent because of those issues.

“There’s eight units in this park that owe over $18,000 in rent. Rental arrears, this is going to be a lowball number, we’re looking at $150,000,” he said.

Grose, who also lives at the Maple Grove RV Park and is affected by the outage, said he has been trying to contact the property owner, who he said resides in England, about paying the outstanding hydro bill.

“How do you pay bills with no money?” Grose asked, adding that he had no clue when the situation might be resolved. “What I’d like to see right now is this park seized by the government.”

Longtime resident fears for park’s future

Roger Visser-Van Der Bilt said the uncertainty is especially troubling. The 80-year-old has lived at the Maple Grove RV Park for 12 years and was there when a Hydro One employee turned the power off.

“I put the lights on in my own camper and then he pulled the switch and my lights went off,” Visser-Van Der Bilt told CTV News.

He does not want to see the park closed or taken over, so he is urging residents to meet their financial obligations.

“This is how life goes. You have freedom, but the price of freedom is responsibility,” said Visser-Van Der Bilt.

Hydro One cites privacy limits

CTV News contacted the landlord to ask about the unpaid hydro account and whether there were plans to restore service at the park. No response was received by our deadline.

Hydro One shared the following statement: “While we cannot share information about a specific customer account or property due to privacy legislation, we make multiple attempts to contact customers through a variety of channels to help address outstanding account issues.”

It continued: “Disconnection is always a last resort. We encourage any customer having trouble paying their bill to contact us as soon as possible. We offer a variety of financial assistance programs and service options to help customers pay their electricity bill.”

In the meantime, more than 40 tenants remain without regular electricity service and say they are bracing for whatever comes next.