McGuinty Government Expected To Give Residents A Hydro Rate Break
Posted November 16, 2010 11:10 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Reports say the provincial government is set to announce a plan for hydro rate relief in Thursday’s fall economic update.
While an across-the-board freeze is unlikely, hydro prices are expected to be an important element of finance minister Dwight Duncan’s address.
The expected announcement will be a major turnaround for the premier. McGuinty has maintained that rising electricity prices were necessary to update Ontario’s power grid and replace coal-fired power plants with healthier, greener energy sources.
However the government has increasingly been coming under fire, both from opposition parties and from the public.
New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath has said she wants the government to remove the HST from the cost of electricity.
The time-of-use or smart meter hydro program has left many customers frustrated. Approximately one million customers across the province subscribe to the plan, but Toronto Hydro reported 60 per cent saw a small increase to their bill after making the switch.
