Debt not new

Dear Mr. Behan:
Re: “Town going into hydro business” (April 26, 2000 edition of the Times).
Mark McCaig of the Fort Frances Public Utilities Commission is wrong if he is correctly quoted as saying new taxes will be applied to all consumers to pay for the standard debt of Ontario Hydro.
It is true that the Energy Competition Act provides for the recovery of debt servicing charges. However, it is crucial for your readers to understand that servicing the former Ontario Hydro’s debt is not a new cost.
Forty cents of every dollar on electricity bills today goes toward servicing the debt. Electricity customers have always paid these charges and will continue to do so until the debt is retired.
They are not new expenses and cannot be used to justify rate increases.
Sincerely,
Jim Wilson
Minister, Energy,
Science & Technology