Urge Ontario’s Party Leaders To Embrace a ‘Real Solution’ to Rising Electricity Costs
A Call-Out from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, a citizens advocacy group in the province
Posted February 13th, 2018 on Niagara At Large
We are now just a few months away from a provincial election and we know that rising electricity costs are sure to be a big issue on the campaign trail. So why have none of the parties at Queen’s Park embraced the real solution to lowering bills – buying power from Quebec?
Quebec just signed a deal with Massachusetts to supply power at 3 to 5.5 cents per kWh. That’s less than one-third of the projected cost of power from rebuilt reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Station. Yet our leaders seem more interested in accounting tricks and finger pointing than in grabbing Quebec’s sensational offer to make a similar deal with Ontario.
Right now, all our leaders (and leadership candidates) seem to be stumbling around in the dark on the electricity issue (with the exception of the Green Party, which has called for a deal with Quebec). To make a real difference for voters, they need to quickly flip the switch from dangerous high cost nuclear to clean affordable power from Quebec. Voters have had enough of non-solutions and the blame game. Now it is time for real answers.
Please tell the leaders and leadership candidates that you want answers, not empty promises.
- Premier Kathleen Wynne: premier@ontario.ca
- NDP Leader Andrea Horwath: ahorwath-qp@ndp.on.ca
- PC Leadership candidate Christine Elliott: christine@christine2018.ca
- PC Leadership candidate Doug Ford: info@fordforleader.ca
- PC Leadership candidate Caroline Mulroney: caroline@carolinemulroney.ca
Thank you, Angela Bischoff, Director
P.S. We have sent the PC leadership candidates the following question: “Should the Government of Ontario seek to negotiate a long-term electricity supply contract with Hydro Quebec to lower our electricity rates?” We’ll let you know what they have to say. Stay tuned.
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Niagara At Large 
While I absolutely support the idea that people should ask questions about their electricity system they should do so with an open mind and not seek to force a conclusion.
The picture is far more complex than the Clean Air Alliance would have you believe.
As I have said previously, the Government has to ensure that we have the power that we need to run the province. It would be irresponsible of it to put us in a position where we are relying on power that may or may not be available to us (Interconnect availability and capacity, water availability, other demands on the available production capacity etc etc etc).
So by all means test the Government on their plans …..but don’t lobby for a conclusion. That way we risk ending up without sufficient reliable power and that will mean people dying and economic disaster.
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I agree that people need to be informed, but Neil Alexander seems to suggest that the only information we should trust is that which comes from the Wynne government. Pardon me if I do not share his trust in the capacity, let alone the veracity, of the Wynne Liberals. The Ontario electricity issue is all about politics. This province made enormous investments in nuclear power plants which are now aging to the point of being very dangerous; despite this fact, Wynne’s long-term energy plan for Ontario includes ramping up our dependence on nuclear power for our electricity, which is already at 60%. The question is whether to continue down this costly and potentially suicidal road or to seek other, safer and ultimately more sustainable solutions. Unfortunately, the nuclear lobby is exceedingly powerful and well-resourced, and the nuclear industry provides tens of thousands of well-paying jobs.
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