Phone scams target Hydro Ottawa amid COVID-19 outbreak

(CNW Group/AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE))

On March 17, Hydro Ottawa received an increase in reports about suspicious callers posing to be utility representatives threatening to disconnect power as residents deal with a state of emergency in the province related to COVID-19.

Hydro Ottawa announced additional assistance and protections to customers, including extending the provincial disconnection ban by an additional three months and suspending all collection action to provide customers with more time to pay their accounts.

This is the second scam in 2020 targeting Ottawa electricity customers.