Noticed a 12% reduction in hydro bills?

More than one year since taking power, Premier Doug Ford’s promise to cut hydro bills by that amount remains on the to-do list with no set completion date.

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“Our government remains committed to lower electricity bills by 12% for families, small businesses and farms across the province while restoring fiscal responsibility,” energy ministry spokesman Sydney Stonier said in an e-mail.

“In the meantime, we put regulations in place to hold the average residential electricity bill increase to the rate of inflation effective May 1, 2019 by continuing to reduce Regulated Price Plan (RPP) rates.”

When Ford made his election promise to slash bills, 61% of Ontario voters were warning that hydro prices would impact their ballot choice, according to an Ipsos poll released about a week before the 2018 provincial election.

Photo by Antonella Artuso / Toronto Sun

It no longer appears to be a major issue with voters in Ontario.

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“It has definitely declined,” Darrell Bricker, CEO of Global Ipsos Public Affairs, said.

While most voters thought no one had a great plan to reduce electricity prices, the poll found more people believed the Tories could do it better than either the Liberals or NDP.

According to the Ontario Energy Board’s bill calculator, a Toronto Hydro residential customer using 750 kWH of power a month is paying an average monthly bill in 2019 of $129.77 — a figure which includes an 8% provincial rebate.

The total is roughly what the previous Liberal government predicted, according to leaked 2017 Liberal cabinet documents.

After the cost of electricity soared between 2014-17, former premier Kathleen Wynne brought in the Fair Hydro Plan to cut bills by 25%.

The plan was criticized by Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk who said the program was set up in a way that improperly kept the true cost of a government program off the deficit.

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The Ford government will bring this expense onto its own books on Nov. 1, a move that will save on long-term borrowing costs.

“The electricity line on bills would return to reflecting the true cost of power,” Stonier said. “Moving forward, we will continue to look for ways to lower electricity system costs and put downward pressure on bills.”

While the move is expected to eventually reduce hydro costs, customers shouldn’t expect to see any reduction of their bills any time soon.

Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said the best way to reduce hydro costs — and natural gas bills — is through conservation programs, something the government is cutting.

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“I don’t think they’re going to be able to hit their 12% target … I think it was a promise they made and it’s going to be incredibly difficult for them to keep,” Schreiner said.

Most people don’t realize that the PCs are continuing to subsidize hydro prices, as the Liberals before them did, he said.

“They’re not fully aware that it’s costing us $3-$4 billion a year,” added Schreiner. “We’re the only jurisdiction in North America that’s directly subsidizing electricity prices and putting it onto the tax base, increasing the deficit.”

aartuso@postmedia.com