David M. Bourgeault
Dear Mike:
For several years now, I have followed the antics of our premier and her gang in charge at Queen’s Park.
Mismanagement seems to be the order of the day and, in fact, has been much more prevalent when they are dealing with the Ontario Hydro file.
I hope this letter brings to light how absolutely ludicrous some of the things we have been expected to do when dealing with our hydro.
I can start with former premier Dalton McGuinty’s edict to have all Ontarians conserve electricity by having us turn out the lights and do things like laundry in the middle of the night.
My report on my earlier attempts to conserve went like this: I couldn’t find the dog, I fell down the basement stairs three times, I broke two toes on furniture, I put dirty dishes in the oven, put a roast in the dishwasher, and kissed the neighbour (Yves) when he came in the back door as I thought it was “the wife.”
But after all these trials and tribulations, I was (wait for it) .91 cents ahead on my electricity bill.
That was then and this is now. Premier Kathleen Wynne has said she is happy to defend the $9.2 billion cost of Ontario’s “green” energy program.
Okay, I get it. Who doesn’t want to breathe clean air? I agree that phasing out coal-fired power generation was needed, but it didn’t have to come at such a heavy price.
Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk reported that Ontario could have reached the same “green” energy goals without the $9.2 billion cost.
Our province could have purchased power from energy-rich Manitoba or Quebec, and provided one-time grants or incentives for solar or wind projects to get the ball rolling, instead of choosing its feed-in tariff program in 2006 that provided lucrative 20-year energy contracts to wind and solar contractors—running up as high as 80 cents per kilowatt hour.
At the time, we could purchase power for about 12 cents per kilowatt hour. This was revised in 2009 and 2010, with feed-in tariff prices now running at a more modest 16-46 cents per kilowatt hour.
No wonder we are paying higher prices for electricity—and we can expect more of the same.
We currently can buy electricity for about 17.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The province could have promoted and established more “green” energy without driving prices through the roof.
Many homeowners I have talked to say they may have to choose between paying their hydro bill and eating. “Green” energy should not have to come with those kinds of choices.
In closing, I wonder if the government would be interested in providing me with a grant to pursue the relationship between renewable energy and baked beans.
Signed,
David M. Bourgeault
244 Second St. E.,
Fort Frances, Ont.
