Ontario budget watchdog to report on hydro

YorkRegion.com
May 24, 2017

Ontario's financial accountability officer is presenting a report today on the fiscal impacts of the Liberal government's plan for hydro relief.

Legislation expected to pass next week would cut bills by an average of 17 per cent, but would also cost consumers more in the long run.

Just how much more is a contentious issue at the legislature in light of leaked cabinet documents suggesting there will be large increases after an initial drop.

The Liberals have said after the 17-per-cent cut, rate increases will be held to inflation for the next four years, and in 10 years ratepayers will have to start paying back debt that will be accumulated in order to finance lower rates for the next decade.

The government says that cost to consumers will be up to $28 billion — the cost of paying back the debt with interest.

It also comes with an additional cost to taxpayers, with $1 billion a year coming from government coffers to finance an eight-per-cent rate cut that took effect in January, and another $2.5 million over three years to pay for cuts for low-income and rural ratepayers.

The leaked cabinet document shows that from about 2027 onward, when people would start paying off debt and interest associated with the hydro plan, consumers will be paying more than they would without the Liberal government's plan to cut costs in the short term.

The government has dismissed the document as containing outdated projections, but won't make public any of the various other projections it says went before cabinet.