Aug 10
24
Read the complete article here.
August 22, 2010
Hydro prices “going up like a rocket”
By Don Butler
Electricity prices in Ontario are “going up like a rocket,” fuelled in part by the Ontario government’s Green Energy Act, says a longtime observer of the province’s energy scene. “You are going to get screwed, and it’s going to be painful,” said Tom Adams, a Toronto-based consultant and a former executive director of Energy Probe. “We’re talking about hundreds of dollars a year out of your pocketbook that didn’t need to happen. I’m livid about it. People should be outraged.”
Hydro Ottawa customers have already been hit with a double-digit increase this year, thanks to rate hikes approved May 1 by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) and the imposition of the harmonized sales tax July 1. A typical consumer in Ottawa who uses 800 kilowatt hours of electricity now pays $116.82 a month, including tax, according to the OEB. That’s 17.7 per cent more than the $99.35 a month the same residential customer was paying in April. Half the increase is due to higher rates and half because of the HST.
Adams warned that Ontarians should expect to pay at least $110 more a year by the end of 2011 for electricity. That translates into an additional nine-per-cent increase. After that, rates will move steadily up for four or five years, he predicted. The OEB has already received several applications for more hefty rate increases.
Hydro One, which operates most of the province’s long-distance transmission lines, has asked for a hike of 15.7 per cent in 2011 and 9.8 per cent in 2012. If approved, the increases would apply to the transmission portion of electricity bills. Ontario Power Generation, which produces about 70 per cent of Ontario’s power, has asked for a 6.2-per-cent price increase effective next March. It scaled that back from 9.6 per cent after pressure from Energy Minister Brad Duguid.
Traditionally, Ontarians have paid less for power than Americans. But now, said Adams, “we are leaving them in our dust.” He calculated that Ontario electricity rates passed the average U.S. price for the first time early this year, and are now nearly 15 per cent higher.
Adams assigned much of the blame for the rise in electricity rates to Ontario’s Green Energy Act, which promotes the use of solar, wind and other alternative power sources. The Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program, which locks in generous payments for 20 years for large green energy projects, is “just outrageous,” Adams said. The program’s rates are far in excess of current electricity prices. The FIT program, for example, offers producers between 44.3 cents and 71.3 cents per kilowatt hour for solar power, and between 13.5 and 19 cents for wind power. By contrast, the average weighted price for electricity so far this year is 4.02 cents per kilowatt hour.
Four FIT projects are already operating commercially, as are more than 700 small-scale projects under the companion microFIT program, which offers even richer incentives. Adams said FIT projects will drive up electricity bills as they generate more and more of Ontario’s power. Because 20-year contracts have already been offered for FIT projects totalling more than 2,600 megawatts of power, Adams said, “it’s now too late to avoid hundreds of dollars per year of increases.”
But Tom Carpenter, a research associate at Queen’s University’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, said claims that green energy will drive up the price of electricity are “simply false.”
Well today my hydro bill arrives exactly on time,due Sept7 2010 sum of 362 per month. Had the smart meter put in a year ago, live with no lights on during the day, wash at night from 9pm till 7am off peak hours what a joke this is we are suppose to save BULL CRAP my hydro bill increased 84 dollars nothings changed over the year same things on same routine. So starting Sept next month my hydro will be 477 dollars from 362. So this is a good thing BULL CRAP.I am angry very angry. My hydro bill starting Jan2011 till Dec 2011 will increase 1018 dollars mind you unless again we are hit with another charge. I have lived here, for 30 years my hydro bill, 30 years ago was 67 dollars next month Sept 2010 it will be 410 dollars more. This country is run by a bunch of thugs, thieves. We are screwed and if you want to go solar, you better have a whack of money what a sad country we live in. Taxes government and bills are killing the people,and when your dead they still want more.
I couldn’t agree more with the statement above mine, when will all this absolute madness end?
We as Ontarians are being taxed and charged outrageous prices for our energy and politicians and Energy suppliers are to blame. I’m tired of being ripped off by “the man” and after 50 years in Ontario I’m considering relocating in this country to an area that offers affordable energy. I’ve had to give up many things like hobbies and the quality of my families food in order to keep up with rising costs associated with living in this province. I’m now ready to call another area of Canada my home for the remainder of my life. My hydro bill has gone from approx 220.00 monthly to over 300.00 and this I can’t keep up with and I won’t be goaded into using vacuuming my carpets after 11 pm just to save a few pennies. And yes the privincial and federal governments do kill good Canadians each and everyday in Canada and beleive when I say the only enemies we as Canadians face on a day to day basis is our Government!!
Mike: Re: Rising Hydro Bills
I don’t think moving to another province will be your answer. Harper has publicly stated that he wants to implement the HST over all of Canada. That in itself is a huge blow to many of us. And don’t forget, the government is on board with this hoax called Global Warming so I feel it’s only a matter of time until all the other provinces are in the same situation we are – and maybe worse. We are in the End Times and the world as a whole is suffering economically at the hands of our governments.
Serenity
As a rate payer I shouldn’t have to finance renewable energy. Why am I buying a solar array for someone. They should go to a bank and get a loan. Keep me out of it. Oops to late thanks to Mcguinty I am now paying them 20 times market rate for solar generated electricity? Is Mc guinty retarded? In a recession he has completely mismanaged this situation. Instead of offering relief to struggling and laid off ontarians he has pushed through the worst most expensive plan ever. Smart meters cost a billion and they charge double or triple the actual cost electricity. Slap on the HST and tuen announce a Moronic plan to spend $88 billion in a recession when we are currently only using half our capacity and Quebec has cheap clean power for sale. Having Mcguinty manage energy issues is like calling a carpenter when you need a plumber. Doesn’t make sense. Stop the micro fit immediately! Ratepaters will be paying for this for the next 20 years – long after Mcguinty is gone and living in a Mexican villa on our tax dollars laughing at us. What a stupid plan. What a stupid politician. In the middle of a recession to proudly announce an $88 billion plan and further rate increases of 50% over the next 5 years. Are these guys smoking crack?