To the editor:
As a senior on a fixed income with a home in the city and a small cottage on an island in Northern Ontario, I can tell you that the likely property tax increases in Toronto, and increasing costs of food, gas, transportation and extra taxes and increases on just about every commodity and service that we use, are a challenge.
Another expample of this arrived in the mail today. Our Hydro One bill arrived. This is what it looks like: Three month period (June 11 - Sept. 10, 2012) Electricity Useage: $120.62 31.8% Delivery Charges: $195.81 51.6% Regulatory Charges $ 10.01 2.6% Debt Retirement Charge $ 9.43 2.5% HST (87086-5821-RT0001) $43.67 11.5% Total $379.55 100.0%
The bill also has an important notice: “Hydro One has applied to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) for an increase in Delivery rates for most customers. If approved by the OEB, new Delivery rates will be effective on January 1, 2013.”
There is a 10 per cent Ontario Clean Energy Benefit off the above bill of $37.96 which brings the final bill to $341.59, but I have read that this credit may be removed.
It was just a blanket to mask the spiraling energy costs so the Liberal government would not appear to be bad guys at the time it was implemented.
I am not sure when the Ontario Hydro debt retirement charge will stop, but I would like to know.
It is a challenge to use less electricity than we do.
We are conservative users. I hope that you will publicize this request for an increase from Hydro One, and that enough public outcry will stop it.
Like so many things, we get angry, upset and concerned, but never seem to see the real concerns taken into account when decisions are made.
I did try to find out more at one point in time about Hydro One and the Ontario Energy Board, who ran them, what type of governance is applied, by whom, but found it so extremely confusing, that I gave up on it.
Ontario Hydro spent money like crazy with little governance for years, and perhaps a good look at Hydro One and the Ontario Energy Board would be a worthwhile endeavour.
Bev Edgar,
Toronto
