Tara-Sue Brennan’s home is warming up after two days in the bitter cold.
She fell back on payments to her private propane provider and woke up Wednesday with an empty tank.
“I ended up crying on the phone, because it was so cold in here,” Brennan says. “I just cried … we have no heat.”
Brennan is a single-mom to three young adults and two dogs.
She says grocery prices strained her budget leaving her owing Gaz Propane Rainville a few hundred dollars.
Brennan says she settled the balance on Tuesday, but was told it was too late.
The company had cancelled her refill, leaving her family to fend for themselves ahead of a major snow storm.
“We just dressed properly, and cuddled up.”
Back in 2003, a Montreal man died during a cold snap when Hydro-Québec cut his power.
The provincial energy supplier now has a policy preventing it from doing that in the winter months.
Lawyer Sylvie de Bellefeuille says Hydro-Québec is governed by provincial energy laws — the same rules don’t apply to private companies
“The conditions really depend on what is stated in the contract,” says de Bellefeuille of Option Consommateur. “So what people should be aware of is that well, it is possible for the company to cut off, if they have a payment problem.”
She adds consumer protection agencies may be able to help if people reach out.
A spokesperson for Gaz Propane Rainville told CTV News via email that they delivered propane to Brennan 24 hours after she paid her bill, and when she told them she was still without heating, their team sent a technician over free of charge.
Brennan wants others to know that what happened to her, could happen to them too, if they’re not proactive.
