E.L.K. Energy hosting Kingsville town hall
E.L.K. Energy is inviting Kingsville residents to a town hall meeting to discuss the next steps to enhance reliability and overall quality of the utility service.
The utility says the meeting is an opportunity to initiate dialogue with the community.
Over the years the service has been plagued with outages, surges and other disruptions.
Kimberly DeYong, E.L.K. Energy Board Member and Deputy Mayor of Kingsville says two years ago, Kingsville town council sent a unanimous resolution to the Town of Essex, which wholly-owns E.L.K. Energy, requesting a service review.
"And in that resolution we pointed out that Kingsville residents and businesses aren't getting good service, that there's losses to businesses, families are facing disruptions from unreliability, electronic equipment is being damaged, and there's just general stress and concern about the service. Especially more lately in regards to the storms we've been having."
DeYong says the among the issues the board discovered were underinvestment in the system.
She says the board has established a plan to improve the service but the rollout will take time and money.
She says one way to get more funding is through electricity rates, which currently she says are among the lowest in the province.
"The rates are regulated, we can't just increase rates. It has to be approved, and the rate approval is not something you can just ask for whenever you want. The rates currently are a result of the underinvestment. So investment is going to be made, essentially rates will have to go up."
DeYong says she expects to hear from residents who are unhappy but hopes they still come and present their concerns.
"I hope they feel heard and take this opportunity to speak directly to myself, the chair and our management lead. I think we'll hear about personal stories of loss and hopefully they leave feeling, not only heard, but more hopeful about the future of the quality and reliability of the service."
The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 17, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Unico Hall, 37 Beech Street in Kingsville.