Phony meter reader tries to bust into Winnipeg woman's home

A Winnipeg woman had a close call Wednesday morning when a man apparently posing as a Manitoba Hydro worker tried to force his way into her home.

The man came to the door of the woman's home on Johnson Avenue in the city's Elmwood neighbourhood onWednesday morning.

"I was checking my e-mail, then all of a sudden I heard a knock at the door," said the woman, who wanted to be identified only as Melanie. "Some guy was dressed in a Manitoba Hydro jacket and he wanted to come in, but I wouldn't let him in."

The woman became suspicious when shenoticed the man's uniform-style jacket and pants did not match, she said.

"This guy, his jacket was blue and the pants were black, so that tipped it off right away that he wasn't working for Hydro at all," she said.

"I asked him for ID. He wouldn't show me ID. He started kicking at my door, and I ran upstairs and called the cops."

By the time police arrived, the man had already left the area. Melanie said the officers told her that other people in the neighbourhood had also called to complain about the same man.

Hydro says employees carry ID

Manitoba Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider said the woman did the right thing by asking for identification.

"All of our employees who would go to the door of a customer's home and there aren't that many circumstances where that would happen, the chief one being meter-reading but if they go to the customer's home, they need to show some ID," he said.

"They all have ID, and if they don't as I said, she did exactly the right thing and turned him away."

Most hydro meters are located outside customer's homes. If that's the case,hydro workers, who wear blue uniforms,rarely need to enter a house, officials said.

Anyone who has concerns about a meter reader on their property can call their local district office (the phone number at the top ofhydrobills) or Manitoba's Hydros Customer Contact Centre at (204) 480-5900.

Winnipeg police say they're still investigating the matter and will issue an advisory about the suspect if warranted.

The incident was a frightening reminder to some of the "meter reader rapist," a man who sexually assaulted several young women in the 1990s after posing as a hydro worker to gain entry to their homes. A suspect has never been identified in those cases.