St Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener faces higher electricity bills despite declining consumption

TORONTO, ON: Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) reveal that the electricity bill for St Mary’s have faced a steep increase over the last four years. Electricity bills for the facility have grown from $1,198,734 in 2013 to $1,515,637 in 2016, an increase of over 26 per cent. In the same period, actual consumption of electricity fell at the facility by 114,648 kWh.

“How is St Mary’s Hospital expected to manage their budget when electricity bills are rising by hundreds of thousands of dollars despite declining consumption?” asked CTF Ontario Director, Christine Van Geyn. “The more the facility has to spend keeping their lights on, the fewer resources they have for patients.” Ontario has seen dramatic increases to the cost of electricity, with bills for residential consumers more than doubling in the last decade. “Families across the province all feel the pain of rapid increases to the cost of electricity when they pay their home electricity bill. But what many people don’t think about is the cost of the Ontario government’s failed electricity policy to the institutions we all rely on, like St Mary’s,” continued Van Geyn. “Instead of paying $316,903 for inflated electricity bills, St Mary’s could have paid for 36 hip replacements. That’s something patients in Ontario expect hospitals to pay for, instead of Wynne’s hydro rip-off.” The documents detailing St Mary’s General Hospital electricity bills can be found HERE.