Premier Dalton McGuinty says hydro will go up 46% more in the next 5 years. Currently I pay 6.4 cents a kilowatt but next week I go on Time of Use (TOU) so my peak price becomes 9.9 cents a kilowatt which now become a 35% increase per kilowatt right there then add his 46% increase on top of that it now becomes up to a 81% increase on those hours. Do the same with mid peak prices then I go from 6.4 cents a kilowatt to 8.1 cents a kilowatt for roughly a 20% increase then you add 46% on top of that and now I got up to a 66% increase on those hours. And I will get a 46% increase at the low peak price at 5.1 cents a kilowatt so my guess is my bill will rise 65-70% not the 46% McGuinty says.
What would you rather pay 4-8 cents a kilowatt from gas and nuclear power plants or 80 cents a kilowatt for wind and solar power?
Who can afford to pay 80 cents a kilowatt for power? The cost will continue to rise as more wind and solar power comes on board and, yes, Ontario will have a new power grid, but we will living in the dark as we will be unable to afford to turn our lights on.
What is more disturbing is McGuinty's $7 billion deal with Samsung to produce wind power. Ontario's PC Energy Critic John Yakabuski put forward a motion that would require McGuinty to disclose the details of the agreement.
Despite the McGuinty Liberals talk of accountability and transparency the Liberals voted to keep the details of the deal secret. So one has to ask if it is such a good deal, why is McGuinty keeping it from the people of Ontario?
This is what we do know; Despite the government’s lack of disclosure, the Premier was forced to admit that the deal contained no job guarantees despite a $437 million subsidy. I would also like to note under Ontario's Green Energy Act, a feed-in tariff (FIT) will siphon $3.8 billion from consumers' pockets by 2015 to subsidize wind and solar power producers. Just stop and think for a moment. McGuinty is subsidizing producers of wind and solar power with taxpayer's money, but we will still be charged up to 20x the price for this power than if we were producing power from nuclear or gas power plants and gas power plants which have very strict emission standards.
Ontarians may be experiencing the highest electricity rates in North America now and in the future, so please don't let McGuinty buy your vote for a 10% fictional discount on hydro and also remember McGuinty is handing out $40,000 a year for foreign students to be educated in Ontario up to 4 years of education free what do our kids get higher tuition rates.
Ross Ayotte
Smith Falls, Ontario
