Sometime around the election in October 2011, Ontario’s residential power price will blow past the doubling point relative to the 2003 price consumers paid when McGuinty was first elected.
The attached commentary puts this development in the context of Ontario’s electricity history reaching back to the origins of Ontario Hydro in 1906.
Post script: Here is another review of electricity history in Ontario with greater detail on events in 2002/3.
A great short history of how the electricity system worked before the politicos got involved. Should be a must read for every MPP in this province. McGuinty has put jobs at risk in a big way by listening to the greenies who are keen for a wealth transfer to the pockets of wind and solar developers. Hands in the trough by using words like sustainable, reduction in CO 2 etc. The boys at the Engineers Club will be wringing their hands when they read this. A sense of entitlement coupled with the myriad of sustainable energy companies that have sprung up since the Liberals have come to power have been outed! Way to go Tom!
The politicos didn’t just get involved recently, they supplied the credit all along. With artificially cheap credit, the engineers picked more capital-intensive solutions than they should have. For all the flaws of the old Ontario Hydro, it certainly served consumers far better than the new order. What I find surprising about the old Hydro model is that it lasted as long as it did and then that the level of petty corruption appeared to be so low.
See coverage in the Ottawa Citizen, “Hydro costs to soar, report warns”, September 8, 2010.
Also, see coverage in the Windsor Star, “Hydro rates; Pushing Ontario to the brink”, Sat Sep 11 2010
What I would like to know,is why the HST is being applied to the debt pay down
payment? It is no wonder that people feel ripped off.
The rate impact of applying the HST to the Debt Reduction Charge is small potatoes compared to the rate impacts of the off-coal policies and the Green Energy Act.
The verdict is out on time of use: bull $hit. Prices have doubled. I studied my bills for the past 12 months and no matter how much I used or when I used it the overall average kwh price remained the same at $0.20. To me it seems false and misleading to claim people will save money by switching to off peak when in fact it is not true. So far boycotting them appears to be the only way to save. Solar panels going up tomorrow. Just “FLICK OFF”? Consider it already done.