N.W.T. woman unhappy after power corp. declines to pay $2K for damaged appliances

A homeowner in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T., is unhappy that she won't be getting a dime from the Northwest Territories Power Corporation for appliances damaged during a power fluctuation last December.

Susan Kaodloak says she lost two Bell satellite receivers, two television sets, a couple of lamps, a microwave, a Keurig coffee maker and the circuit board on her furnace and thermostat.

• Reported power surge in Ulukhaktok costs family over $2,000 in lost appliances

Replacing some of those items cost her $2,250. She and her husband Edward submitted a claim to the NTPC for reimbursement.

Instead of a cheque, they got a rejection letter.

"NTPC's operational staff have investigated your claim and found that the power outage was due to damage on the Secondary Distribution line," the letter reads. (See full letter below.)

Mostly 'just bad luck'

According to Kaodloak, NTPC said there was a problem with the line going into the house that caused so much extra power to come. They told her she "should have known that it could have happened and that it was my responsibility."

But she says there's no way she could have known that was going to happen.

A Red-Seal-trained journeyman electrician in Yellowknife agrees. 

Justin Mager says he suspects the damage was caused by a broken neutral — a device that's supposed to bring the high voltage electricity from the main line down to a usable level. He says he's seen the devices fail before, but there's generally no way to anticipate it, or prevent it through regular maintenance. 

"More than anything it's just bad luck." 

But Mager does have some advice. If you notice power fluctuating in your house — say, a light bulb blows out dramatically — go turn your main power off and call an electrician, or the power company, to take a look. 

'The responsibility of the customer'

NTPC declined to speak about a specific customer's claim, citing privacy.

However, in an email response, communications manager Pam Coulter stated: "Any damage to equipment, appliances, electronics is the responsibility of the customer unless the damage is caused by negligence or willful misconduct on the part of NTPC."

The policy, she noted, is designed to protect all customers from higher power rates.

"A regulated utility may only charge customers what it costs to operate the system. If other costs are blended into rates, such as weather-related property damage, then those costs would be shared by all other customers and everyone's rates would rise. That is contrary to the principle of regulation and, arguably, against the law."

No place to appeal

Kaodloak says she's out of luck.

"There is no place to appeal this decision," she said.

"[NTPC] just told me that they investigated it and the people who investigated it were their workers that came in and fixed the power line and they said as far as they're concerned, they're done, they don't have to reimburse us for anything."

Kaodloak recently discovered her treadmill no longer works.

She's adding it to the list of damages caused by the power fluctuation.