Council supports lower rates for electricity

Council here is supporting a call for lower rates for electrical power.

At the April 28 meeting council endorsed a resolution from the Township of Madawaska Valley calling on the provincial government to put a halt to planned rate increases and to “bring these rates down to a reasonable level and do so as quickly as possible.”

The motion states the province’s long-term energy plan would see rates rise by 42 per cent over the next five years.

“It is imperative that the province of Ontario review their energy policies,” giving special consideration to northern and rural municipalities, the motion states.

Madawaska Valley is a township in Renfew County with about 4,300 permanent residents and, like Mapleton, a considerable summer seasonal population.

The resolution encourages  municipalities that have a significant number of seasonal residents to “inform those residents to seek relief from seasonal hydro rates through direct communication of such to their electrical utility provider.”