03.01.2017 11:28 AM

Hydro rate cut: personally, I’ll take it

Huge scoop from the Star:

Premier Kathleen Wynne will slash electricity rates by 25 per cent this year, the Star has learned.

In a dramatic move to be finalized at cabinet Wednesday, Wynne’s government is poised to unveil sweeping measures to rein in the soaring hydro bills that currently have the Liberals’ popularity plummeting.

Sources say the massive reduction in rates will come mostly by “smoothing out” the financing costs of electricity generation contracts over longer periods.

It’s the equivalent of refinancing a mortgage to enjoy lower payments over a longer time on nuclear reactors, natural gas-fired power plants, and wind turbines.

Wynne’s office refused to confirm details of the 25 per cent solution Tuesday night.

What thinkest thou, O wk.com readers? That’s a big cut. Will it help their political fortunes? Make ’em worse? Make no difference?

Comment away!

36 Comments

  1. Adam Jackson says:

    Horwath offered 30 percent if I’m not mistaken. I’m holding out for Brown to pay me to use hydro.

  2. Mark says:

    I’m only originally from Ontario, and am not as astute a follower of things in that province as others on this board. However, too little too late IMO. The Liberal government created this problem and the Liberal government will pay dearly for it. I see little or no change in the dismal prospects for Wynne come next year.

  3. Mario says:

    Too little too late. This is just a shell game with our own money. Hydro bills will come down but at way expense. Higher OHIP levy?

    We are just passing along more debt and money problems to our child and grandchildren.

  4. Cory says:

    People have been complaining about the rising costs for years now. I think people are smart enough to know that they could have done this years ago but now that they’re in third place in the polls and there’s an election next year all of a sudden its an urgent issue that has to be addressed when not long ago we were told by Chiarrelli that the increase in costs was just our imagination.

  5. Robert Frindt says:

    Ontario Liberal Party: before each election they temporarily reduce hydro rates and promise not to raise taxes – works every time !

  6. Derek Pearce says:

    This may help them from dropping to 3rd party status but I think Wynne herself will still have to pass the torch if the Ontario Liberals have any hope of remaining in government. I personally like her, but she’s become an albatross for the party and the time is rapidly drawing near where she decides to resign for the sake of the party, or the party revolts and finds some way to force her out, or it becomes clear she’s staying put and tonnes of Lib MPPs anounce they won’t seek re-election.

  7. ABB says:

    Her credibility is ZERO. Why cut by 25% now? Why did the rates skyrocket in recent years? In which alternative pocket is she hiding the difference, only to be sprung on taxpayers later? Total bull. She is doomed.

  8. Matt says:

    This isn’t a “cut”. It’s a deferral. We’re still paying the same amount just over a longer period of time.

    Any “savings” will easily be wiped out by Wynne’s Cap and Trade carbon tax.

    Pathetic, naked attempt at self preservation by the Wynne Liberals.

    Hydro rates have been an issue for more than 8 years. And only now, with Wynn’s popularity in the mid to low teens (as low as 11% if the recent Forum is to be believed), the Liberals in second place in polling, and an election 15 months away do the act.

  9. George says:

    So if I understand this correctly, prices jump 40+%, she’s going to “cut” 25% and people are applauding? It would be lovely if she focused on fixing the core of the problem, but it now may be well beyond anyone’s ability to fix.

    The current issue of The Economist has an enlightening article about the problems with economics around green energy, and while Ontario (or Canada) aren’t mentioned by name, the article is wholly relevant. Check it out.

    Back to Wynne, she’s doing this for short-term gain by deferring the costs to our children and grandchildren. This government is completely incompetent and not acting the best interests of people today or of future generations of Ontarians.

    • Matt says:

      40%? Try 400%.

      Global just had a story on about an ice cream shop. Their rates have gone up 400% in the last 2 years, and the owner had the bills to prove it.

  10. lou says:

    But this time Liberals “REALLY” mean it. For proof see 10 billion deficit (ouch), Electoral reform (doh!!) net zero contracts (except teachers of course), toll approval for Toronto ( Yes does not mean yes), and gas plants (oops). How do you know a Liberal is lying…….they open their mouth. Unfortunately for Ontarions, they have stupidly and ignorantly fallen for this ruse before, and they are likely to fall for it again. So glad I escaped to BC in 2003 before McGuinty and Butts destroyed the province.

  11. MississaugaPeter says:

    A sham, but will the voters accept?

    Look south, anything is possible.

    Will depend how it is spun and if the Conservatives and NDP fall on their swords again.

    The real question is how are the new Hydro shareholders being appeased with this rate change? Our children’s and grandchildren’s paycheques going to be used to provide profits for the new Hydro shareholders now?

    • MississaugaPeter says:

      Reminds me of the selling of the 407 for political gain.

      Can you imagine how much daily grief would be avoided by 401, 400, and 404 drivers if the 407 had stayed public and free? And less pollution?

      And there would have not been a need to spend $Bs adding lanes on the 401 this past decade.

      • bluegreenblogger says:

        even better, can you imagine if they rolled out transponders for everyone, and those other highways were peak use costed? We could have actually managed traffic effectively all those years, instead of building commute times up to hours per day.

      • doconnor says:

        The 407 wasn’t free when it was sold and wasn’t intended for to be free when construction started under the NDP. If kept public the tolls would be lower and the money would go to the province.

  12. John says:

    The actual cost of electricity on my bill is only 30% of the total. The other 70% is a bunch of bullshit charges. Does the reduction apply to everything or just the cost of the power???

  13. Kevin says:

    I don’t think this in itself will do anything more than maybe take the sharp edge off the unpopularity. They’ve acquired a stink and IMO that will take a lot more than a rate cut to shake off. The Conservatives doing something untoward, maybe?

    Personally I don’t think that stink is warranted. I don’t think they’ve done such a bad job. The glaring exception for me is Naqvi and the Adam Capay situation. Naqvi needs to hang his head in shame. To meet someone who’d been kept in solitary for so long and to care so little that he claims not to recall? Then to disavow responsibility because he’s not in the corrections portfolio anymore? Weasel. Get rid of Naqvi and I’m generally ok with the current government.

  14. bluegreenblogger says:

    If it shows up on a few Hydro bills before we vote, it will serve to save a few locally popular incumbents I guess. A fig leaf of sorts. It looks like they are desperately throwing everything overboard though. The first signs of panic.

  15. Derek Pearce says:

    Man, The Beaverton is on fire lately. Get a load of this! As I said above…

    https://www.thebeaverton.com/2017/03/premier-kathleen-wynne-cut-hydro-rates-fuck-holy-shit/

  16. Eastern Rebellion says:

    This is one of several “hail Mary” passes the Premier will throw in an attempt to stave off annihilation at the polls. I think it is too late, although never underestimate the ability of the provincial PC’s to implode. I think they were ahead in every poll since 2003, and have yet to win even a minority government. Once the writ is dropped, we’ll see. I don’t think Patrick Brown will do well south of Hwy 7, east of Hwy 10 or west of Pickering….but this government has so many liabilities, that eventually the chickens will have to come home to roost.

  17. Jon Evan says:

    Wynne is smart.
    Of course the hydro rate cut is a distraction. When the number of teachers etc. make up the majority of the pop’n of Ontario the Liberals will always get elected, re-elected, re-elected etc. And Justin will keep sending Wynne more and more refuges. Especially ones with many children to that she can hire more and more teachers. Useful that…

    • Derek Pearce says:

      # of primary and secondary teachers in Ontario: 115,000. Population of Ontario: 14 million. Teachers aren’t going to make up a majority of the population and neither will 20,000 refugees. Wingnut.

  18. Matt says:

    From the article:
    “Most of the reduction will come from the Ontario government stretching out the costs of electricity generation contracts. The savings impact should be immediate.”

    So, have the producers already agreed to this, or will Wynne have to, um, “compensate” them?

    If they have signed contracts that say they will get X dollars over X years, why would they agree to going to X dollars over, say X + 20 years without being compensated?

    • Mark says:

      I would obviously be more more dollars spread over the course of more years. Just like you can pay less per month with a 30-year mortgage, but you’ll end up paying a larger total amount over the full term of the agreement.

      So this ‘rebate’ comes on the backs of our future selves, or our children.

  19. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    This won’t cut political ice because it is so obvious that it should have been done much sooner. A small positive but only on the margins. Herle needs to weigh in with something much better. Here’s a hint: take a not insubstantial percentage of provincial gas tax revenue and use it to increase fuel transfer tax money to cities and other municipalities. Make it conditional on municipalities using the money solely to reduce property tax rates. (Let the feds fund gas tax transfers for infrastructure and other priority issues.)

  20. Kevin says:

    What a pathetic shell game that hopefully most voters will see through. With this kind of economic illiteracy displayed by the Wynn gang its no wonder we are in the fiscal mess we are.

  21. David White says:

    The election is the PC’s to lose. Wynne and the Liberals will be hard pressed to find a strategy that will win this time given the glaring mismanagement of the province as witnessed by current hydro rates. Unfortunately, buying off public sector workers and waiting for the PC’s to do or say or propose something ridiculous has proven to be a brilliant strategy in the 21st century, in this province at least. I hope Patrick Brown can assemble a team capable of running a campaign that proves they are ready to manage the province. Not convinced of that so far though.

  22. Christian Conservative says:

    Sounds like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Or in this case, robbing PETER to pay PETER. Sure, they’re dropping the hydro rates, but paying for it via all the tax increases they’ve imposed.

  23. doconnor says:

    The Liberal and NDP plans to reduce Hydro bills will pressure the Conservatives to come up with their own plan. Coming up with plans has been their undoing in the past and Brown has virtually no experience at it.

  24. Matt says:

    So:

    Rates will actually continue to go up, but only the amount of inflation.

    And this little scam of Wynne’s will ADD $1.4 BILLION A YEAR in interest payments to the energy producers contracts.

    Still liking the plan Warren?

  25. Eastern Rebellion says:

    After listening to Patrick Brown Friday morning on CFRB, I now think Wynne can actually pull it off. Sad, but true.

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