New Brunswick man without electricity for 13 years in bizarre power struggle

FREDERICTON It's a dispute that no one wants to resolve.

It's been more than a decade since Neil Lemon climbed a hydro pole outside his Lower Durham, N.B., home in a desperate attempt to draw attention to his feud with NB Power a dispute over an unpaid bill that led to his power being disconnected.

Nearly 13 years later, Lemon's small weather-beaten bungalow still has no electricity.

"They've just got no feelings whatsoever for what they've done and don't even try," Lemon said this week. "Over the simple thing of what happened here; it just boggles my mind how it could get this far for something as simple as that."

In 1999, Lemon's home was disconnected five times during the height of the dispute, but four of those times he reconnected the power himself.

The last time the stoppage was permanent.

At the time of the final disconnection, Lemon claimed he'd offered half of his $746 income to the utility toward the $850 he owed, but was told to pay the total amount.

"This is not the way to go through the last years of your life," Lemon said, "You've got no power and you die of old age and never had power because of something stupid a mix-up in a bill."

Lemon said his life now consists of lugging several gallons of water for a flush, pets, washing and cooking every day. He has done that for 365 days a year since the plug was pulled.

Lemon, 57, heats his house with wood.

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New Brunswick man without electricity for 13 years in bizarre power struggle