Ontario’s energy minister says a report suggesting rural ratepayers will be hit hard when the province introduces a flat hydro delivery rate is way off the mark.
Glenn Thibeault countered, during a phone interview on Thursday, saying in fact rural residents will see their bills drop under the plan.
“The fixed distribution rate is actually going to lower rates for rural and remote customers,” Thibeault said, adding published pieces stating the opposite would happen got the story completely wrong.
“The Ontario Energy Board’s mandate is to find ways to reduce costs, not increase costs and the fixed rate will actually change that variable piece they see on an ongoing basis.”
According to a Sept. 13 Global TV report, residents living in low-density areas serviced by Hydro One could see their distribution costs jump by up to 25 per cent, which could increase their hydro bills by as much as 11.5 per cent.
The utilities urban customers could see distribution rates drop by as much as 19 per cent, resulting in a four per cent cut to their bill.
“It was disappointing to see that, but we’re going to make sure that we get on that and correct (the story),” said Thibeault, who did not offer details on how much rural residents might be expected to save under the revamped plan.
Thibeault, who took over the portfolio just three months ago, was reaching out to local media across the province to discuss Monday’s throne speech, in which the governing Liberals promised starting Jan. 1, 2017 they’d remove the provincial sales tax portion of from residential and small business hydro bills.
The news was greeted by skepticism in some corners, Charla Robinson of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce questioning whether Ontarians would see their bills decrease when cap-and-trade hikes were factored in.
The program, introduced to help the province cut its greenhouse gas emissions, will see costs for gasoline to rise by 4.3 cents a litre and natural gas bills to grow by $5 per month.
But according to the province, home electricity prices will not rise as a result of cap-and-trade.
Thibeault said there are many ways consumers can save money through programs that encourage them to reduce their own carbon emissions, suggesting programs that reward people for buying electric cars and energy efficient heat pumps.
“And if you reduce your carbon emissions you’re going to lower your personal cap-and-trade cost impact … and if people actually change some of their behaviours they can lower their costs even more,” said Thibeault.
Ontario does have a number of programs in place to help certain residents reduce electricity rates, including the Ontario Energy Support Program, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program and the Northern Ontario Energy credit, which provides up to $221 per year for qualifying families.
Thibeault also discussed changes to the industrial conservation initiative, which will open the program to about 1,000 more businesses across the province by reducing the qualification from three to one megawatts of power.
He estimated it will save businesses that take part between 14 and 34 per cent on their hydro bill.
