News of hydro savings for businesses and homes, as part of the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act 2016, was officially unveiled during a news conference hosted by Cambridge MPP Kathryn McGarry and Kitchener Centre MPP Daiene Vernile at the Cambridge Towel plant Friday morning (Sept. 16).

Companies in Waterloo Region, say the MPPs, could see hydro bill reductions of up to 34 per cent as part of the expanded exemptions.

Friday’s announcement will also mean energy costs savings for residents in the form of rebates of eight per cent on monthly bills – before tax. According to estimates, that could amount to about $130 in savings annually.

When asked where the money for the rebates would come from, McGarry and Vernile cited money management by the Liberals, investment in infrastructure and job creation.

“Next year, we will be coming to balance, and when the finance minister and our government took a look, we were able to spend $1 billion now to relieve the pressure on families,” said McGarry. “And we’re still on track to balance the budget next year.”

McGarry believes this week’s energy rebates and savings announcements show the government is listening to concerns.

“We are hearing that everyday Ontarians can certainly use help with lower costs of electricity,” she said.

Vernile echoed the Cambridge MPP’s point, saying, “Taken together these actions represent one of the largest electricity support programs ever in the province of Ontario.”

The provincial politicians also took a moment to chastise their predecessor government, saying the Progressive Conservatives left them to clean up and rebuild the province’s energy system.

“I just really wanted to remind people what we inherited in 2003,” said McGarry. “It was a very dirty system, it was unreliable, with rolling brownouts and blackouts.”

The Liberals, since taking power 13 years ago, have transformed and modernized the energy system, she said, replacing most coal burning system with clean energy, resulting in billions in annual savings on health care.