Wynne Liberals are untrustworthy in the electricity system

Fact-checking the 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan

Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals are untrustworthy, especially when it comes to our electricity bills. Every single thing they’ve ever touched in the energy sector has left hardworking Ontario families paying more and getting less.

Let’s take a look at some of the mistruths the Wynne Liberals spun in the last LTEP:

The 2013 LTEP said: 
“Ontarians are benefitting from a clean, reliable and affordable energy system.”
Reality: 
Ontario has the most unreliable electricity grid in the country, and it’s only getting worse.
In 2016, Ontario reported 162 power outages, an increase of 88.4 per cent from 2014. By comparison, British Columbia and Quebec combined had 103 power outages. Source: Eaton’s 2016 Blackout Tracker
Under the Wynne Liberals we have seen our hydro rates skyrocket to the highest in Canada, and for years this government refused to acknowledge it was a crisis.
 
The 2013 LTEP said: 
“By the end of 2014, Ontario will be coal free.”
Reality: 
Kathleen Wynne’s Hydro One fire sale has put Ontario back into the coal business.
In July, 2017, Hydro One announced the purchase of Avista, a Washington based utility company, for nearly $7 billion. Avista owns one of the largest coal-fired plants west of the Mississippi.
Hydro One’s decision to purchase Avista has been criticized by environmental groups like the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, and the Sierra Club.
 
The 2013 LTEP said: 
“Hydro One has improved the efficiency of its operations…”
Reality: 
As a result of Kathleen Wynne’s Hydro One fire sale, Ontarians have no way of actually knowing how efficient Hydro One has become because everything has been cloaked in secrecy.
But, we do know the Liberals awarded the current CEO of Hydro One with $4.5 million in compensation – a nearly 400 per cent raise from what the CEO made in 2013.  
 
The 2013 LTEP said: 
“The province, in collaboration with the Korean Consortium, revised provisions of the Green Energy Investment Agreement (GEIA). The revised GEIA reduces contract costs by $3.7 billion…”
Reality: 
We have now learned that the Liberal government could have saved an additional $1.5 billion on the Samsung deal by exercising an exit clause. Instead the Liberals renegotiated the deal leaving ratepayers on the hook for power Ontario doesn’t need.
 
The 2013 LTEP said: 
“Wind projects are an important part of Ontario’s energy mix, creating thousands of jobs across Ontario…”
Reality: 
We are now seeing that the Liberals’ promised green energy jobs were nothing but an empty promise. Earlier this year, the town of Tillsonburg was devastated by the closure of the Siemens wind turbine plant and the loss of 300 jobs.
 
The 2013 LTEP said: 
“Smart meters and consumer demand response programs are allowing ratepayers to control and understand their electricity consumption better…”
Reality: 
In her 2014 annual report, the Auditor General revealed that Ontarians have seen little benefit from the $1.9 billion smart meter program. She also found that ratepayers were on the hook for double the amount the Liberal government had originally predicted.
The Auditor General’s scathing report cut so deep into the government’s narrative that it led then Minister of Energy Bob Chiarelli to suggest the Auditor General didn’t understand the electricity system.
 
The 2013 LTEP said: 
“Increased public participation and community engagement in the development of energy plans and policy is vital…The government and its energy agencies will reach out to local communities early and often.”
Reality: 
The Wynne Liberals continue to cut municipalities out of the decision making process when it comes to the development of wind farms and solar plants. The government has voted down Ontario PC legislative proposals to make municipal approval mandatory.
As a result of the Liberal Government’s failure to consult, nearly 100 communities have declared themselves “unwilling” hosts.
 
The 2013 LTEP said: 
“Oil and natural gas play an essential role in the daily lives of Ontarians, supplying three-quarters of the province’s primary energy use.”
Reality: 
A leaked copy of the Climate Change Action Plan revealed the Liberal Government’s secret plan to eliminate natural gas as a source for home heating. These comments were later echoed by the Minister of Environment in the Legislature.
This leak and the surrounding backlash forced the government to embarrassingly retract.