Opposition Conservatives are calling Premier Kathleen Wynne’s promise to cut soaring hydro rates by 17 per cent “a desperate shell game.”
“Of course hydro rates need to come down,” said Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece in a March 6 press release.
However, he said the Liberals’ latest announcement “doesn’t get to the root of the problem, which is years of failed Liberal energy policies and the terrible contracts they continue to sign.”
Pettapiece said Wynne compared her plan to “refinancing the mortgage and setting a new term that stretches over a longer period.” However, he stated, it comes at a cost of roughly $25 billion in interest costs over 30 years.
“Over the long term, this will cost us more – much more. Our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be paying for this government’s mistakes.”
Pettapiece also slammed the government over what he calls yet another mistake. The MPP stated reports indicate the government last week planned to sign more new green energy contracts.
“This is more high-cost power we do not need and cannot afford,” Pettapiece said.
“It’s as if the Liberals have learned nothing. People need to ask why this government would continue signing such bad contracts.”
Opposition Leader Patrick Brown stated many of the contracts signed to date were handed out to Liberal donors; 30 of the companies donated $1.3 million to the governing party. The government “should admit its Green Energy Act has been a failure and repeal it,” Pettapiece stated. “That would start to solve the problem. Pushing the costs onto future generations is not right.”
In 2015, Ontario’s auditor general concluded ratepayers overpaid $37 billion for hydro from 2006 to 2014. The report also showed ratepayers will spend an extra $133 billion by 2032 because of global adjustment fees on hydro bills.
