Brockville General Hospital copes with rising electricity bills despite falling usage

TORONTO, ON: Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) reveal that the electricity bills for Brockville General Hospital have faced a steep increase over the last five years.

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The documents obtained by under a Freedom of Information request show bills that are steadily increasing, growing from $769,826 in 2012 to $1,138,733 in 2016, an increase of 48 per cent. During the same period, actual usage of electricity by the hospital fell by 30,501 kW. “How is Brockville General Hospital expected to manage their budget when electricity bills are rising by hundreds of thousands of dollars, despite reduced consumption?” asked CTF Ontario Director, Christine Van Geyn. “The more the hospital 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 Brockville General Hospital,” continued Van Geyn. “Instead of paying an extra $368,907 for inflated electricity bills, Brockville General Hospital could have paid to for 15 kidney transplants. That’s something that Ontario patients expect their health care system to spend money on, rather than wasting money on this government’s hydro rip-off.” The documents detailing Brockville General Hospital’s electricity bills can be found HERE.

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