Hydro customers to pay for companies’ fines, court costs

Area MPP Bill Mauro says the province will not allow Hydro One to raise its rates to help it pay for fines and court costs.

The Ontario Energy Board said that utilities can raise rates to cover the $18 million in fines and court costs they had to pay after the courts ruled they were charging too high an interest rate on late payments. MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay – Atikokan) admits that the board does have the power to make such a decision, but added that Ontario’s Energy Minister Brad Duguid will intervene.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous in this situation that this should be allowed to occur,” Mauro said Wednesday afternoon about hydro companies raising rates to pay for fines and court costs. “I was really happy to learn that our energy minister has told Hydro One ‘no, you are not going to pass this one along to the customer.’”

But the minister’s statement has no impact on Thunder Bay Hydro. Mauro said it is up to the shareholder of that company, the City of Thunder Bay, to take similar action as the energy minister did.

“It is up to the distribution company,” he said. “So for us, it is going to be Hydro One and we’ve been clear to them … when it comes to local distribution companies, they have the opportunity to either raise their rates or find it internally.”

Thunder Bay Hydro's Tim Wilson said the increase will be seen on Hydro bills starting this May.

Wilson says the increase will only be tacked on to bills for one year and end next April 30.