Premier announces 8 per cent hydro rebate during Vaughan factory visit

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 15, 2016
By Tim Kelly

Premier Kathleen Wynne revealed in Vaughan the 8 per cent HST rebate on your hydro bill will be permanent through legislation her government will introduce today.

While the move is expected to save the average homeowner and small business operator about $130 per year, it’s also expected cap-and-trade increases on gas (4.3 cents per litre or $8 a month) and heating ($5 a month) will cost residents about $156 a year, offsetting that cut.

The premier, who was at Vision Extrusions to talk about Liberal energy policy, praised her government’s efforts at tackling climate change but also said it was time to help out consumers battling rising energy prices.

“We got rid of coal-fired plants and ending coal saves about $4-billion a year in medical and other pollution-related costs,” she said.

“The cost of building a clean and reliable energy grid has pushed the cost of electricity up...I’ve heard from people around the province, in every region, that it’s becoming too much. We’ve taken that to heart, because it’s not just an electricity issue, it’s a cost-of-living issue,” she said in introducing the permanent 8 per cent HST rebate.

Wynne also said the government will extend its Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI), which extends to small- and medium-sized businesses cost-savings for conserving energy use. Businesses can achieve big savings by using energy in off-peak hours.

“Companies can reduce their electricity costs by up to a third. As we walked through the plant today Vic (De Zen, owner of Vision Extrusions), pointed out the way they’ve implemented changes to conserve energy,” said Wynne.

The expansion of the ICI program was a jolt of energy for Vision Extrusions general manager and partner Joseph Sgro.

He explained to the crowd the company, which includes 10 manufacturing facilities occupying 1.6 million sq. ft., has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new and retrofit energy-efficient equipment, in part, because of the ICI program, first introduced in 2011.

Vision is building a new 350,000 sq. ft. plant to open in January, that will create 250 jobs, and is investing $150-million in equipment and technology in the new plant. With 2,500 employees, it is one of Vaughan’s largest employers.