Selling Hydro One will help consumers (or not).

• Author: Adams, Tom
• Position: NEWS

Long ago, Ontario's Liberals lost interest in telling the truth about our power situation. Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli repeats endlessly his talking points that Ontario's massive power exports are profitable and conservation is saving you money. Now Premier Kathleen Wynne, Minister Chiarelli, and their adviser, Ed Clark, assure us that consumers are being protected in the Hydro One sale. How do these talking points stand up?

Ontario's power exports are soaring. If Ontario's net power exports for the remainder of this year match the pace they were at in the back half of last year, by the end of 2015 we will have exported as much power as will be consumed in the entire City of Toronto during 2015. So far this year, the price our exports have brought in is about a third what consumers in Ontario pay for the commodity portion of their bill alone and less than a quarter of the price paid to new generators coming onto the system. We lose a little on every sale, but Minister Chiarelli wants you to believe that we make it up in volume.

Minister Chiarelli's "conservation first" talking points make his "exports are profitable" story seem solid by comparison. Ontario's power consumption started a steady decline in 2006 while the total amount of money that must be collected from consumers has increased by 33 per cent after eliminating inflation. Ever growing total cost divided by shrinking sales volumes translates into rising power rates. While Chiarelli assures you that conservation is reducing the amount of power the government must buy, he is simultaneously signing a vast new portfolio of long-term contracts for unaffordable, unneeded power. Conservation is actually the government's marketing program for more rate increases.

Although behind a smoke screen, it appears that conservation programs costs exceed $400 million per year. Consumers don't need reminding to cut their usage. Compound annual rate increases of almost 10 per cent communicate clearly.

Now the folks jacking up your rates are telling you that they have an awesome new plan to fund subway construction in Toronto by selling most of Hydro One, the provincial Crown transmission and distribution utility. Don't worry. You'll be protected, they say.

When the old Ontario Hydro collapsed in 1999 and was replaced with a group of new Crown corporations, including Hydro One, the total amount of interest-bearing debt the ratepayer was ultimately responsible for added up to $31 billion. Every...