Minister talks energy at local mill

The province’s energy minister says he’s optimistic new policies will bring growth to Northern Ontario.

Energy Minister Brad Duguid was at the AbitibiBowater mill in Thunder Bay Wednesday to officially launch the Industrial Conservation Initiative, which officially begain on Jan. 1. Duguid said the initiative will help more than 240 businesses by reducing energy costs.

The system is similar to a residential smart meter system. Industry will be charged less for energy used during off-peak hours. While the announcement was made at AbitbiBowater, Duguid said the initiative will help all industries.

"It’s an initiative that was welcomed and very much brought forward through industry in Ontario and one that we think is a very smart way to do business in this province," Duguid said. "This is good news for the mining industry, it’s good news for pulp and paper, it’s good news for jobs in the North."

AbitbiBowater Thunder Bay general manager Doug Murray said the initiative, along with the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate, will help save the company up to $12 million a year.

The mill’s thermal mechanical plant doesn’t operate during peak hours yet the company was being charged like it was said Murray.

"If you’re not consuming power during the day time when the peaks are being set then you get a reduction in the power price that reflects that," Murray said.

Along with new energy policy, Murray said sometimes painful restructuring at the mill has helped it go from one of the companies most expensive operations to one of the cheapest.

"It’s a combination of folks, fibre, power, input a lot of people contributed to this," Murray said. "What we all want is long term jobs we all want a future into the long term."