Ontarians Paying for Energy Minister’s Mistakes
QUEEN’S PARK – Despite losing $1.1 billion exporting power in just the first 6 months of 2015, today in Estimates Committee the Minister of Energy Bob Chiarelli refused to acknowledge these staggering losses.
When asked how much money Ontario ratepayers will lose this year on the exporting of power, the Minister responded, “The reality is…because we have surplus electricity we put it to good use.”
The Minister’s statement comes despite electricity exports costing taxpayers billions of dollars in recent years:
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$1.2 billion in 2013
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$1.2 billion in 2014
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$1.1 billion to date in 2015 – including over $220 million in the month of June alone.
“The Minister continues to reject the fact that his decisions have cost ratepayers $3.5 billion in just three years,” said PC Energy Critic John Yakabuski. “Ontario ratepayers are on the hook for every single one of those dollars, yet the Minister has made no effort to get the skyrocketing costs of Ontario’s domestic energy supply under control.”
Yakabuski added, “If the Minister did a better job managing Ontario’s energy supply, he would have saved nearly the same amount this Government claims they will receive from the sale of Hydro One. The Wynne Liberals have proven time and time again that they can’t get anything right when it comes to energy policy.”