An elderly Edmonton woman experienced power outages last week after a dispute over a water bill prompted EPCOR to place a limiter on her duplex.

Limiters provide homes with enough electricity that EPCOR says will run the heat and a couple of appliances but will cut the power supply if too much of it used.

Carol Anne Kunicki says that has happened three times since the limiter was placed without notice on the home she shares with her 86-year-old mother, Stefania Kunicki.

The first outage occurred when Stefania turned on the TV, her daughter said.

“She was quite frantic because she realized that the TV wasn’t working and didn’t know what was going on,” Kunicki said.

Stefania Kunicki, 86, faced power outages last week when EPCOR placed an electricity limiter on her family's Edmonton duplex. (CBC)

The dispute goes back to last year when EPCOR sent the family bills for water usage on the side of the duplex they rent to tenants.

They received bills for February and March, a time when Kunicki says the rental property was vacant.

The family checked the unit for leaks and consulted a plumber. Everything seemed to be fine, Kunicki said.

However, she's been fighting the bill ever since. Her monthly payments were kept up to date, but she refused to pay the amount that was in dispute.

“That was our only recourse was to withhold some funds so that they would negotiate and talk about this water issue,” she said.

The dispute has now moved to the Alberta Utilities Commission which will meet with EPCOR and Kunicki on Tuesday.

The limiter was removed and the power was fully restored while the AUC reviews the case.

EPCOR spokesman Tim LeRiche said that privacy issues prevent him from discussing this particular situation. But he said customers are always given notice when a limiter is installed.

Alberta law prohibits utility companies from cutting off electricity to residential customers over the winter months, which is why limiters are now used.

With files from the CBC's James Hees