The President of AltaGas Utilities says it is responsive to reports of faulty equipment and addresses customers’ issues when they are identified. 
This came in light of an undated, unsigned letter circulating that alleged that AltaGas could be putting customers at risk.
The Mail received the letter purported to be from an employee of AltaGas that says a certain model number of gas meters could put customers at risk.
Greg Johnston, president of AltaGas Utilities says they have instigated a program to replace a number of gas meters that have had a very low instance of failure, and most often, the issue with the meter is that it stops reading.
He explains between 2008 and 2010, the company purchased about 10,000 meters. In 2010, the company received correspondence from the manufacturer that some of the index units may have a flaw.
“We received a letter from the manufacturer saying the experienced .058 per cent defects on odometer indexes,” said Johnston. “These indexes were on meters shipped across North America during that time period of 2008-2010. They said they were not able to predict which of these indexes would fail due to the very small number of defects.”
He said this meant the defect would affect meter readings as the index might stop.
“We didn’t take on any wholesale replacement program because we didn’t think the meters were stopping and there was such a small percentage of failures, we responded to customers as they called,” said Johnston.
From 2010 to 2012 the company responded to a few calls, most often when the index stopped, but in a very few cases, the gas was cut off. Two houses received some damage, according to Johnston.
Johnston said when Measurement Canada approved a new replacement in 2012, AltaGas made an arrangement with the manufacturer to replace the indexes on these meters.
“Crews have replaced all the faulty indexes but a few and the program is wrapping up at the end of next week,” said Johnston.
He adds that the expense to change the indexes has been borne by the manufacturer and not passed on to the customer.
Johnston also disputes a claim in the letter, which states the writer has remained anonymous, because the company has no whistleblower protection.
“We have had whistleblower protection for over 15 years, it is an organization called Ethics Point. New employees when they start here are made aware of Ethics Point and every current employee has gone through an awareness program,’ said Johnston.
AltaGas employees with issues can contact Ethics Point through their office computer, or any other computer not linked to the company. They could also call a 1-800 phone number to make anonymous reports.
“Ethics Point is a world wide leader in this and we stand behind their integrity and ability to take an anonymous complaint,” said Johnston.
