From Premier Kathleen Wynne on down, whenever the Ontario Liberals talk about the high cost of electricity they have imposed on us, they boast about creating a “clean, modern and reliable” hydro system as a result.

Those words are constantly repeated in public statements and press releases by Wynne, present and past energy ministers, and other Liberals, along with boasting about eliminating Ontario’s use of coal-fired electricity in 2014.

Except that through its continuing minority ownership in Hydro One, the Wynne government is now back in the coal business, with the utility’s announcement last week it’s buying U.S. power company Avista Corp for $6.7 billion, part owner of a giant, U.S. coal-fired electricity plant in Montana.

Wynne’s claim to have transformed Ontario’s electricity system into a clean, modern and reliable one are included in her 2017 “Fair Hydro Act."

That will impose between $21 billion and $93 billion of new debt on Ontarians, according to the Legislature’s Financial Accountability Office, in order to lower hydro rates by 17% starting this summer (in addition to a previously announced 8% cut) and hold annual increases to the inflation rate for four years.

After that, Ontario electricity rates — the highest in Canada according to last week’s Fraser Institute report — will skyrocket.

The problem is, Liberal claims to have created a modern and reliable hydro system are wrong, according to Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk.

Here’s what she said in her December, 2015 annual report about Hydro One, the province’s monopoly (96%) electricity transmitter, which distributes power directly to 1.3 million customers:

“Hydro One’s mandate is to be a safe, reliable and cost-effective transmitter and distributor of electricity. Instead, (its) customers have a power system for which reliability appears to be worsening while costs are increasing.

“Customers are experiencing more frequent power outages, mostly because assets aren’t being fully maintained, aging equipment isn’t being consistently replaced and trees near power lines aren’t being trimmed often enough to prevent outages.”

Lysyk called Hydro One one of the least reliable large Canadian electricity distributors between 2010 and 2014.

Compared to Hydro One’s power outages, those of other distributors were, on average, 59% shorter, 30% less frequent.

In 2014, the Ontario Energy Board ranked Hydro One worst and second-worst among Ontario electricity distributors for the duration and frequency of power outages in 2013, while spending to operate and maintain the system and replace worn out assets increased 18%.

Lysyk found Hydro One’s transmission system significantly deteriorated from 2010 to 2014, with customers experiencing 24% more outages, lasting 30% longer, while maintenance costs increased 31%.

From 2012 to 2014, its backlog of preventive maintenance orders for transmission equipment increased 47%, outages by 7%.

There’s a risk of more power failures because Hydro One hasn’t replaced assets that have exceeded their service life.

The number of transformers, circuit breakers and wood poles in service beyond normal replacement dates ranged from 8% to 26%.

Replacements will cost about $4.472 billion, over 600% more than Hydro One’s $621-million capital sustainment expenditure for 2014.

The top reason for power outages from 2010 to 2014 was broken power lines caused by fallen trees or limbs.

Hydro One used a 9.5-year vegetation-management cycle, compared to an average of 3.8 by similar utilities.

Its own analysis showed the vegetation-management work it did in 2014 cost $84 million more than it would have under a four-year cycle, which would have resulted in fewer outages.

After spending $660 million installing 1.2 million smart meters, Hydro One used them mainly for billing customers, ignoring their capability to remotely identify locations of power outages before customers call to report them.

Using this feature would have made dispatching work crews timelier and more efficient, with improved customer service and cost savings.

Lysyk noted since the Wynne government was selling its majority stake in Hydro One to the private sector, she could no longer review it going forward.

So much for the Liberals’ modern and reliable hydro system.