Ontario PCs ask watchdog to do full costing of Liberal’s hydro relief plan

Theglobeandmail.com
March 6, 2017
By Allison Jones

The Progressive Conservatives are asking Ontario’s budget watchdog to conduct a full costing of the Liberal government’s plan to lower hydro bills.

The recently announced 17-per-cent reduction in hydro bills comes this summer thanks to a move akin to refinancing a mortgage over a longer period of time.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has acknowledged it will cost ratepayers more in the long run, but she says savings are needed now because people are struggling.

She said in question period on Thursday that the extra interest costs related to the plan would amount to $25-billion over 30 years.

But the Tories say they’re not clear on how the Liberals arrived at that number and have sent a letter to the financial accountability officer, asking him to investigate.

Wynne’s $25-billion figure does not appear in the hydro relief announcement’s background documents, which say the plan will involve “annual interest costs not exceeding $1.4-billion.”