Electricity prices in Ontario continue to rise, despite the government’s attempts to lower them.
That’s the finding from a Fraser Institute report comparing hydro rates across the country.
It finds we are paying 22% more on average for hydro than the rest of Canada.
Large electricity consumers in Ontario are paying 65% more than large consumers in the rest of the country.
Elmira Aliakbari is the co-author of the report.
Aliakbari says one main reason is that the province’s surcharge on electricity, the so-called Global Adjustment that was introduced in the 2009 Green Energy Act, continues to rise.
She notes it increased 13% (adjusted for inflation) between June 2018 to June 2019, from 12.1 cents per kilowatt hour to 13.7 cents per kilowatt hour.
Aliakbari adds subsidies to solar and bio-energy generators account for 15% of the surcharge, yet these sources only generate 3% of Ontario’s electricity.
She says the government has cancelled some future energy contracts but they haven’t really cancelled existing contracts.
Aliakbari stresses it’s those contracts that are the major driver of the surcharge, accounting for 34% of it.
Energy Minister and Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford has previously said that his government continues to make hydro rates a top priority and looking at ways to bring them down.
Rickford has strongly stated that the PC government took over an electricity mess from the previous governing Liberals.
