Making electricity affordable
By John O'Toole MPP

Ontario’s Official Opposition has tabled legislation to make electricity in Ontario affordable again.
_PC Leader Tim Hudak warned last week that the main reasons for future increases in electricity are expensive subsidies paid to renewable energy developers - whether we need the power or not. Tim Hudak’s Private Member’s Bill tabled March 7 would replace these subsidies with an approach that treats energy policy as a key economic policy. The Tim Hudak legislation would end the McGuinty government’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and microFIT schemes, which pay unsustainable subsidies to developers through 20-year contracts. Under the FIT Program, renewable energy developers are paid two to 10 times the price of other sources of power such as nuclear, natural gas and hydroelectricity.
_Industrial wind and solar farms not yet connected to the power grid would require Ministerial consultation with the affected communities, prior to a final decision by the Minister on whether a project should proceed, be renegotiated or in some cases be terminated before they really get going. Value-for-money and supply-and-demand issues would also be considered.
_Ontario’s Auditor General found that under the FIT program, customers may have to pay energy generators up to $225 million a year not to generate electricity, given that renewable energy is being added to the system much faster than the growth in the economy’s demand.
_Tim Hudak notes that Ontario has a surplus of power. In fact, the Province has been a net exporter of excess electricity for six years. We are paying $1.8 billion to give this electricity to Quebec and the U.S. Despite this surplus, Ontario has the highest industrial electricity rates in Canada. The rates are also higher than key United States markets like New York, New England and the Midwest. Clearly it is time for affordable electricity that will create jobs and investments for the future.

Legislative Update Moratorium Sought on Wind Turbines
A private member’s motion introduced last week calls for a moratorium on further industrial wind energy development until third party health and environmental studies have been completed.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors Required
A bill calling for carbon monoxide detectors in residential buildings was debated in second reading. The Bill, if passed, would require owners of residential buildings that contain a fuel-burning device or a storage garage to install carbon monoxide detectors and to maintain them.

Ontarians Will Get a Choice in Refund Payments
Last week, the McGuinty government backed away from its plan to pay tax refunds for low and moderate-income Ontarians in monthly installments rather than a lump sum. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told the Legislature that those who receive a refund will not be forced to take a monthly payment if they prefer a single sum. The government’s surprise decision to provide monthly payments was a concern because some recipients count on a single lump sum to pay for major expenses that come up every year. After pressure from the opposition and from citizens across Ontario, the McGuinty government has agreed to offer a choice. But taxpayers should have been given a choice in the first place.