A British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) inquiry into submetering company Enerpro has exposed a disturbing regulatory gap in the province’s housing system. Complaints from tenants across BC suggest that private submetering companies are charging opaque and inflated utility rates while helping landlords sidestep laws meant to protect renters. As affordability pressures intensify across the province, the proceedings have revealed how weak oversight allows private companies to profit from essential services while leaving tenants with little recourse.

In multi-unit residential buildings, individual meters are often installed to measure each unit’s utility consumption. Submetering companies install, manage, and monitor those meters on behalf of landlords or property managers, then bill residents directly. Enerpro, for instance, operates meters that measure hot and cold water usage, as well as heating and cooling consumption. In 2025, the BCUC received complaints from residents in Victoria buildings serviced by Enerpro. Tenants pointed to exorbitantly high utility charges and a lack of billing transparency. In response, the commission launched an inquiry into whether Enerpro should be classified as a public utility and therefore subject to regulation. As part of the investigation, the BCUC invited public submissions, and hundreds of complaints have since poured in from across the province detailing abuses made possible by the lack of regulatory oversight.

Unlike bills issued by BC Hydro and other utilities providers, Enerpro bills list neither the number of kilowatts consumed nor the rates charged per kilowatt. Instead, bills state only the amount of water, in litres, that was heated or cooled, along with the total charge. Customers are left to calculate the rates themselves and cannot independently verify how those rates are determined, making it difficult to identify or challenge potentially inflated charges. Some residents allege that landlords are using Enerpro to pass common-area and infrastructure costs onto tenants through utility bills, yet confirming this is difficult without greater billing transparency.

When residents ask how recovery rates are determined for particular buildings, Enerpro offers vague explanations. In one response, the company stated: “The recovery rate is a blended calculated cost recovery rate of the fixed........

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