Wynne’s Liberals feeling the heat for spending millions to launch hydro program

Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault defended the measure, saying $21 million has been paid out in the last 10 months to 145,000 of the 500,000 families whose incomes make them eligible for credits of up to $75 a month.

Thestar.com
Oct. 18, 2016
By Rob Ferguson

Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government is taking heat for spending almost $12 million to start a $225-million program helping low-income families pay skyrocketing hydro bills.

That money - $9 million to consultants setting up the Ontario Electricity Support Program and $2.5 million to advertise it - should have been better spent, opposition parties say.

“I don’t buy for a second that it was appropriate to spend $9 million on Liberal consultants instead of low-income families that can’t pay their hydro bills,” Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said Tuesday.

Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault defended the measure, saying $21 million has been paid out in the last 10 months to 145,000 of the 500,000 families whose incomes make them eligible for credits of up to $75 a month.

“We are doing the right thing,” Thibeault told MPPs in the legislature’s daily question period, later noting the start-up fees are five per cent of the total $225 million budget.

Advertising is necessary to make people aware of the program and the $9 million for consultants was a one-time cost for elements including a computer system that connects with the Canada Revenue Agency, he said.

“We do want as many families out there to get on this program as possible. So that money, in my opinion, (and) the $21 million that they’re now getting in terms of assistance, was money well spent.”

“We’re going to continue to work hard to make sure that every family knows about this program, rather than this party just shaking their fist at it,” Thibeault added in a shot at the Conservatives.

New Democrats were also critical, with MPP Peter Tabuns asking, “after spending all the money on consultants and advertising, why was enrolment so low?”

The program administered by the Ontario Energy Board was initially criticized earlier this year for having a low take-up rate and slow approvals of applications, which take six to eight weeks to process.

It has been advertised in newspapers, on radio and in transit shelters, along with pamphlets inserted in electricity bills from local utilities across the province and inserts in social assistance cheques.

“We need to have more people on this program because it is there to help folks that are having a hard time meeting their electricity bills,” said Thibeault.

Efforts are underway to determine if the paper-based application system can be speeded up by moving it online, while still satisfying Canada Revenue Agency requirements for a signature.

The infrastructure for infrastructure and approvals is necessary because “you can’t just give people the money” based on their tax returns, Thibeault said. “They actually have to apply.”

Aside from computer programs, other start-up costs have gone to a customer care centre open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., liaison with the province’s 72 local electricity utilities such as Toronto Hydro, and reaching out to food banks and other social service agencies with information for clients.

Thibeault has recently announced several other programs to take the sting out of hydro bills as the Liberal government, struggling in the polls, prepares for the 2018 provincial election just 19 months away.

They include an 8 per cent instant rebate on electricity starting in January by waiving the provincial portion of the HST on bills, up to 20 per cent relief for remote rural residents and the expansion of a program that helps businesses get cheaper electricity in return for reducing their use in periods of peak demand.

The measures were announced in the government’s throne speech in September, in which Wynne acknowledged her administration — while paying attention to major projects like public transit expansion - needs to focus on “pocketbook” issues as families feel a financial pinch.

For the Ontario Electricity Support Program, eligibility varies by income level and number of residents in a household.

For example, single Ontarians earning $28,000 annually or less after tax can get $30 a month. That rises to $50 if there are seven or more people in the home.

At the top end of the scale, a household with between $48,001 and $52,000 in after tax income can get $30, but only if there are seven or more residents.

The credit on electricity bills maxes out at $75, but only in homes that are electrically heated or a resident relies on medical devices that require a lot of electricity - oxygen concentrators or mechanical ventilators.

Opposition parties have paid close attention to money the Liberal government has spent on consultants in the wake of the eHealth Ontario scandal.

Despite allegations that such consultants had Liberal connections and concerns they were hired without competitive bidding in a headlong rush to create a system of electronic health records, a review by the provincial auditor general found no political links but did point to favouritism.

Deputy energy minister Serge Imbrogno said Monday before a legislative committee that all contracts for the new electricity support program were put out to competitive tender, with winning companies including IBM.