TORONTO

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown says the Ontario Liberal government is overpaying for electricity in a deal to buy power from Quebec.

In a statement Monday morning, Brown criticized the government for signing a “bad contract” to purchase 8 terawatts of power a year from Quebec — enough electricity to power 800,000 homes.

According to a report from La Presse, the 20-year agreement will see Ontario pay 6.12 cents per kilowatt hour, with the rates growing at 2% a year over the life of the deal.

The La Presse story also says that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard must still sign off on the deal.

“Once again, the Wynne Liberals have been caught negotiating in secret when thousands of Ontario jobs are on the line,” Brown said. “This secret deal for 8 terawatts (TWh) per year of power — 6% of the power Ontario used last year — is bad for Ontario’s economy and for hydro customers.”

Colin Nekolaichuk, spokesman for Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault, denied that Ontario has struck a deal to buy hydro from Quebec. Talks are ongoing, he said, but any deal must be cost effective for ratepayers and support the government's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"While we haven’t yet received an offer that meets those core objectives, we look forward to continued discussions with our Quebec counterparts," he said.

sjeffords@postmedia.com