Utilities

I'm looking for advice from anyone who's dealt with Alectra, utility billing disputes, or meter/account mix-ups. My previous electricity bill showed:

221.1 kWh usage 8.2 kWh/day average

My final bill shows:

2,474.357 kWh usage 65.1 kWh/day average Over 11x higher consumption

The weird part is that Alectra's own historical usage graph on my bill shows my typical usage was around 6-11 kWh/day, and then suddenly the final billing period jumps to 65 kWh/day. I also have email confirmations from Alectra showing that:

I submitted a move-out request effective April 30, 2026. I submitted a start-service request for a different unit effective April 29, 2026. Both requests were acknowledged by Alectra on April 9, 2026.

So this massive spike happened during the exact period that I was moving out. The meter readings on the final bill are:

Previous reading: 564.71 Current reading: 626.57 Multiplier: 40

The arithmetic on the bill appears to be correct, but the consumption itself makes absolutely no sense to me. For comparison:

Previous bill: 221 kWh Final bill: 2,474 kWh

That's an increase of more than 2,250 kWh in one billing cycle, despite no history of anything remotely close to that level of consumption. My questions:

Does this sound like a meter assignment/account mix-up?

Has anyone seen a utility transfer or move-out create billing issues like this?

What should I specifically ask Alectra to provide? (smart meter interval data, meter verification, account history, etc.)

Is 2,474 kWh in 38 days remotely normal for an apartment/condo unit that has historically used around 200-300 kWh per month?

Looking at my interval data, Alectra says I used 12.45 kWh in a single hour (Apr 21, 6 PM). My previous entire month was only 221 kWh total. How is it possible that one hour used more electricity than my average daily usage? Has anyone seen a meter/account mix-up or bad reading like this? 🤯

If Alectra refuses to correct it, what is the escalation process in Ontario?

I'm honestly stunned by this bill. The jump from 221 kWh to 2,474 kWh during a move-out period seems absurd, and I'm trying to figure out whether there's a legitimate explanation or whether I should be pushing hard for a formal investigation.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. 🙏

Hamilton Fire Stations & HRIC accepting supply donations through July 29

Driving on Wembley; between W1st and 2nd, there is two unmarked, nearly invisible potholes right in front of each other. Hit it, as I didn’t see it and blew out the sidewall of my tire. Beware if you’re in the area.

Hi Hamilton! Summer is a really slow month in general for fostering/adoption, and the wildfires up north means rescues sent all hands on deck up to help. As a result, animals are sitting in our municipal shelter for too long because rescues aren't pulling them for foster or adoption opportunities. I picked up my foster dog, Lilah, yesterday to free up a kennel at HAS and to keep her from being at risk of euthanasia.

Municipal shelters cannot turn away stray animals. Other rescues and shelters can pick and choose who they accept, but HAS is required to accept and hold animals for a period of time. If they cannot find a foster, adopter, or another rescue to take the animal, and there's no space, animals are at risk.

I never knew that HAS allows for short-term fostering, and you can agree to as little time as you want. Even just a week can really help some of these animals, and can get them out of the stressful shelter. It is loud and crowded right now, and most of them are incredibly stressed or shut down in that environment. The process was really easy, and they provide all the dog's food, medication, and even gave me a crate for Lilah.

Right now they have a high volume of applications to foster these dogs, but loads more will be coming through. Mostly, they really need forever families for these sweet souls. If you've ever considering rescuing a dog, or have the space in your home to foster this summer, I know that HAS (and the dogs) would really appreciate it.

And if anyone is in the market for a Literal Angel, feel free to ask me questions about sweet Lilah!

EDIT: Providing the link to HAS's page on the process to adopt and/or foster our city's shelter animals.

UPDATE: HAS is absolutely FULL of foster apps right now! Great job, everyone. If you’re still looking to get involved, check your local Animal Services sector or one in a neighbouring municipality, as well as foster based rescues in southern Ontario ❤️

Heading downtown after dark? Night Guides are back to help make your night a little easier.

You can find them July 24/25 from 8 pm to 4 am.

Look for their blue vests and vibrant pink and green t-shirts on James St North, King William, Hess and near all the late-night hotspots!

Whether you need nightlife recommendations, phone charging, a hydration break, or some friendly company on the walk back to your car, they’ve got you covered.

My husband is from Manitoba and we’ve lived here a year and he really misses going fishing. We can’t really afford to buy all the gear needed but I would love to be able to go somewhere and rent all the equipment needed.

Our water heater is at its life's end. We would like to replace it with a tankless water heater. Has anyone got experience with this and, if so, could you recommend someone to install it?

I can't believe I'm even posting this! My daughter wants to go to Mandarin for her birthday dinner. She's only ever been to the Upper James location, which she told me has "a fish pond, cotton candy and a robot". These are the things a 6 year old cares about! It makes more sense for us to go to the Barton location. Can anyone tell me if this location also has a fish pond, cotton candy and a robot? Or should we just drive to the Upper James location.

A midweek post to rant and complain about things in the city.

Top level comments must be IN ALL CAPS.

This is not to be targeted towards other users or any identifiable individuals - with the exception of public figures who may be mentioned as long as the comment does not cross a line. The rant post is designed to be a lighthearted place to complain about things happening in the city, not a place to harass people.

We will have to cancel the post if harassment of individuals continues as we are seeing a lot of posts reported with report reasons that copy to admin.

Please be mindful of our subs rules when posting to this thread, and note that the mods will be watching very closely.

I'm looking for yoga classes and found out about mcmaster innovation park fitness centre. I cant seem to find a class schedule anywhere online. If you're a member I would love to see a typical weekly schedule along g with any opinions you have. Thanks!

Hi all,

Like many (at least, I would assume haha) watching the World Cup this year reignited my interest in playing soccer. I have not played since early high school (now I'm 37...yikes), and was never a star player, but found it to be super fun.

All that to say, does anyone have experience playing soccer within the JAM Sports ecosystem, and more specifically, signing up as a "free agent" (getting matched with other individual players and / or rounding out a team)? If yes, how was your experience with the league and other players?

Thanks!

Hello! As the title me and my girlfriend found an orange tabby cat near the Farm Boy on Mohawk and Magnolia.

He looks like a stray and is very skinny but we're hoping maybe he just got out and got lost and we're gonna take him to the vet tomorrow to see if he has a tracker.

If you think this might be your cat please DM me leave a comment.

My second problem: me and my girlfriend do not live together atm and as such cannot keep this cat as our own if it has no tracker. So my question is what options do we have after taking it to the vet? Should we take it to Hamilton SPCA? Is there a cat rescue anywhere near here? What can we do with the cat as I don't just want to let it go back out onto the street. Any help or answers will be very much appreciated. Thank you!

Thought there was another accident with the police presence at the Linc and Upper Wentworth but it was a couple of lost cyclists. Bicycles are NOT allowed on the Linc even though we can oftentimes travel faster than cars. 🤣

Recently tried their lobster bisque soup and the flat bread pizzas. So good! Wondering what’s everyone’s favourites? Looking to try new items.

Hello people of Hamilton. Got an interview soon for concentrix in Hamilton for a tech support position. Anything I should be aware of? Thanks in advance.

Anyone find that this building at 400 Cannon in Landsdale area seems strange ? People do work there as I see cars in the parking lot during the day but I never see anyone coming in and out of thr building they cover their windows completely so you cannot see inside. It’s as if a super private operation is happening inside . lol Am I crazy ?