Bills have climbed, IESO confirms Ford’s current plan won’t really lower bills
TORONTO — The NDP critic for Energy, Peter Tabuns, said Ford has completely blown his often-repeated promise to lower hydro bills by 12 per cent — taking action after action that hikes bills instead of lowering them. Now, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is confirming that Ford’s smoke and mirrors plan to rewrite hydro contracts was never going to make a difference.
As families contact NDP MPPs all over the province to share skyrocketed monthly hydro bills, the IESO has released a report revealing that Ford’s cornerstone campaign promise to rewrite hydro contracts will only result in a 0.17 per cent reduction. That follows Ford’s choices, again and again, to hike hydro rates, including moving to a higher flat-rate price in the middle of the pandemic.
"For years, Ontarians dealt with budget-busting hydro bills under the Liberals. Instead of getting better under the Ford Conservatives, they’ve only gotten worse,” said Tabuns. “Doug Ford has blown it. He had an opportunity to fix the broken hydro system to make bills more affordable for everyone, and he chose not to.
“Ontarians are doing their best to stay afloat during the COVID-19 financial crisis. Having Doug Ford squeeze them to pay higher hydro bills at any time would be wrong — the fact that he twisted the knife a little more during the pandemic is shameful."
Ford's hydro rate hike means Ontarians have been paying 12.8 cents per kilowatt hour since June, up from 10.1 cents per kilowatt hour. In total, the price of hydro has risen by almost two per cent during Ford's mandate.
"I think Doug Ford was making things up when he promised a 12 per cent hydro bill reduction,” said Tabuns. “Two years into his mandate, he hasn’t done anything to reform and fix the system the last two governments privatized, and people are paying the price for his tall tale.”