• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
Hundreds of U.S. LEED-Certified Buildings Left Vulnerable to Flooding, Analysis Finds October 4, 2023
California Children’s Hospital Replaces Diesel Plant with Solar+Storage Microgrid October 4, 2023
Scaling Up Renewable Energy Co-Operatives Can Help Energize the Nation October 4, 2023
U.S. Revolving Fund Could Help Cities, States Fund Climate Resilience Projects October 4, 2023
REVEALED: Imperial Oil, Alberta Regulator Knew of Toxic Seepage at Kearl Mine for Years, Kept First Nation in the Dark October 3, 2023
Next
Prev

Ontario Liberals Scramble to Tame Hydro Bill ‘Monster’

February 15, 2017
Reading time: 3 minutes

Ontario Power Generation/Wikimedia Commons

Ontario Power Generation/Wikimedia Commons

 
Ontario Power Generation/Wikimedia Commons

Few things have Ontario voters more enraged at Premier Kathleen Wynne than the persistent hikes in their electricity bills. After previously cancelling the provincial portion of its harmonized sales tax (HST) levied on power bills, she and her Liberal cabinet are now weighing more far-reaching moves to bring down charges, CBC News reports.

“Wynne and her cabinet are considering two key changes that could see hydro bills drop in the range of 8% or more,” the national broadcaster reports, citing “multiple sources.” The most prominent change would reduce what’s known as a “global adjustment” charge that has appeared on Ontarians’ electric bills since 2005. Another would reform how the province delivers rate relief to low-income residents.

  • The climate news you need. Subscribe now to our engaging new weekly digest.
  • You’ll receive exclusive, never-before-seen-content, distilled and delivered to your inbox every weekend.
  • The Weekender: Succinct, solutions-focused, and designed with the discerning reader in mind.
Subscribe

The global adjustment was intended to “recoup the expected $50-billion cost of refurbishing power plants, building new ones, and financing new wind and solar projects,” CBC reports, “but it has risen dramatically since its introduction.” Although hidden in per-kilowatt-hour power prices, the adjustment “accounted for 85% of the cost of electricity” in the province last year, adding $12 billion to bills.

The reason appears to be the way the payment plan was structured. According to a senior official cited by CBC, the public financing model “really front-end loaded” public payments for the sector refurbishment in an effort to reduce overall interest costs. But in doing so, the official conceded, “we created a bit of a monster.”

The answer may be, in effect, to restructure the “debt” power customers are paying down to be amortized over a longer horizon.

Reducing current payments to lower the adjustment charge could reduce consumers’ bills in the short term, said Paul Sommerville, executive director for energy at the Mowat Centre, an Ontario think tank. “It’s one of the things that’s really been driving rates higher in Ontario.”

But like any delayed debt, interest charges could mount. “It’s like taking a longer mortgage on your house,” explained Mark Winfield, who co-chairs York University’s Sustainable Energy Initiative. “You pay a lot more in interest, potentially a big problem if interest rates go up.”

Winfield urged the government instead to “target” its relief at “the constituencies that are really in distress: low-income folks, people in the north and rural areas.”

Ontario already does that to a degree in the second program area under review. The Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP) provides rebates of up to $50 per month for low-income hydro customers, although the plan “has been criticized for failing to reach all the households that need it.” The OESP is funded by another levy on power bills, but critics say that since it is a social benefit, it should be paid from the province’s general tax revenues instead.

The province has already backed away from some planned green power purchases and suspended collection of its share of the HST on power bills, in a so far unsuccessful effort to soothe simmering ratepayer action. And Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault did not deny that more changes may be coming. “I recognize that reducing hydro rates is a key issue for Ontarians,” Thibeault told CBC. “We’re working hard to find a solution that will be equitable for residential, commercial, and industrial ratepayers, and all options are on the table, within reason.”



in Canada, Climate & Society, Demand & Distribution, Energy Politics, Energy Subsidies, General Renewables, Heat & Power, Jurisdictions, Renewable Energy, Sub-National Governments

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

U.S. EPA/Wikipedia
Severe Storms & Flooding

Hundreds of U.S. LEED-Certified Buildings Left Vulnerable to Flooding, Analysis Finds

October 4, 2023
1
UMHealthSystem/flickr
Off-Grid

California Children’s Hospital Replaces Diesel Plant with Solar+Storage Microgrid

October 4, 2023
1
Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op/Facebook
Heat & Power

Scaling Up Renewable Energy Co-Operatives Can Help Energize the Nation

October 4, 2023
3

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Ramon FVelasquez/Wikipedia

Shell CEO Doubles Down on Renewable Cuts Despite Internal Pushback

October 2, 2023
286
Northvolt plant in Sweden, Spisen/wikimedia commons

Quebec Lands $7B Battery Gigafactory Investment from Sweden’s Northvolt

October 2, 2023
142
jasonwoodhead23/flickr

REVEALED: Imperial Oil, Alberta Regulator Knew of Toxic Seepage at Kearl Mine for Years, Kept First Nation in the Dark

October 3, 2023
263
McDonald's/flickr

McDonald’s Failing to Follow Through on Climate Promises, Critics Say

December 17, 2021
2.6k
Solarimo/pixabay

Leading Climate Models Underestimate Clean Energy Progress, Overstate Cost, Study Finds

October 2, 2023
339
Iota 9/Wikimedia Commons

‘Huge Loss’ for Local Green Economy as Vancouver Shutters Its Economic Commission

September 28, 2023
403

Recent Posts

U.S. EPA/Wikipedia

Hundreds of U.S. LEED-Certified Buildings Left Vulnerable to Flooding, Analysis Finds

October 4, 2023
1
UMHealthSystem/flickr

California Children’s Hospital Replaces Diesel Plant with Solar+Storage Microgrid

October 4, 2023
1
Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op/Facebook

Scaling Up Renewable Energy Co-Operatives Can Help Energize the Nation

October 4, 2023
3
Victor Wong/Wikipedia

‘Small But Mighty’ House Bill Mandates Low-Carbon Materials in Federal Buildings

October 4, 2023
1
defense.gov

U.S. Revolving Fund Could Help Cities, States Fund Climate Resilience Projects

October 4, 2023
1
Transportfan70/wikimedia commons

Three Toronto Workplaces Win Commuter Excellence Awards

October 4, 2023
1
Next Post

Birds caught in climate change traps

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}