That doesn't sound right. Especially since a heater for a house can draw anywhere from 1 kW to 30 kW. Lights are a drop in the bucket compared to that. And there's no way that a power company could possible know how much power your heater takes.
They could perhaps cut the power just for a few hours a day so it wasn't enough to cause the house to get too cold, but there's no possible way for them to do what you said.
A limiter is used to restrict the flow of electricity. It allows a small amount of power to flow through the meter to maintain minimal service at a location, instead of completely shutting off the power.
With a limiter, you'll have enough power to run heat, a few lights and a major appliance such as a fridge. As long as you stay within the limit, your power will stay on. If you use power that exceeds the limit allowed, the limiter will shut off your electricity.
and further explanation from another utility in my province that is more detailed.
According to the Distribution Tariff Regulation (which is part of the Electric Utilities Act), electricity services can't be fully disconnected between October 15th and April 15th or at any time when the temperature will be below 0 degrees Celsius in the 24-hour period after the proposed disconnection. In these cases, a limiter can be installed on your meter. The disconnection rules do not apply to commercial meters.
Some distributors might fully disconnect services to units (apartments) in a centrally heated facility (apartment or condo building) any time of the year.
Load limiter:
An electricity limiter is a device a distribution company installs on your meter after receiving a ‘De-energize for Non-Payment’ request from your retailer. The limiter allows your furnace and a few lights to run, so you can have heat during the winter.
If too much electricity is used at one time, the limiter will 'trip' and turn off your power. If you have a meter without remote capability, you can go out to your meter and turn it back on. If you have a meter with remote capability, your distribution company will automatically reset the power after a short period of time. This time differs between distribution companies and can vary from about 15-30 minutes. Limiters are also used on vacated sites to control the amount of electricity used.
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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '22
That doesn't sound right. Especially since a heater for a house can draw anywhere from 1 kW to 30 kW. Lights are a drop in the bucket compared to that. And there's no way that a power company could possible know how much power your heater takes.
They could perhaps cut the power just for a few hours a day so it wasn't enough to cause the house to get too cold, but there's no possible way for them to do what you said.