In part 3 of this 3 part series on election promises we look at the Liberals position on the electricity sector.
The Liberals
The Liberals released their 2018 budget ‘A Plan for Care and Opportunity’ in late March and I will presume that it contains all of the details relevant to the election.
The budget items include:
- The Fair Hydro Plan which is supposed to lower electricity rates by 25% on average for residential customers. Additional details of the Fair Hydro Plan are included in the 2017 Long-Term Energy Plan.
- Refinancing the Global Adjustment
- Expands the Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP) by increasing the on-bill credits by 50 per cent and making more Ontarians eligible for the program
- The Affordability Fund (part of the Fair Hydro Plan) to help Ontarians not eligible for low‐income conservation programs and who need support to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. It covers items such as LED light bulbs, power bars, energy‐efficient appliances and better insulation.
- Rate increases over the next four years will be held to the rate of inflation.
- Low income families and those living in eligible rural or remote communities are being provided with up to 50% reductions. This broadens the support under the existing Rural or Remote Electricity Rate Protection
- On‐reserve First Nation residential customers of licensed distributors are being provided a 100 per cent credit on the delivery line of their bills.
On the energy side
- Deferring the construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, avoiding an estimated $15 billion in new construction costs;
- Driving down the cost of renewable energy generation through annual reviews of Feed-In Tariff (FIT) pricing, revised procurement totals, and the introduction of competitive procurement for large renewable projects.
- Suspending the second round of the large renewable procurement process (LRP ll) and the Energy-from-Waste Standard Offer Program.
- Renegotiating the Green Energy Investment Agreement with Samsung
- Starting the refurbishment at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in 2020, instead of 2016 to defer costs
- Pending regulatory approvals, continuing to operate the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station up to 2024, for an estimated saving for ratepayers of as much as $600 million.
The Ontario Budget shows that spending on the electricity sector as doubling from 2016/17 to almost $2 billion in 2018/19. That is almost entirely rate relief program spending.
The long-term plan shows lower rates creeping up by inflation for the next four years followed by steady increases until 2030 when the average monthly bill will be closing in on $200 for 750 kWh energy users.
Given that the Liberal party has had 15 years experience with managing the electricity sector, we should expect comprehensive and believable plans moving forward. The budget and Long-Term Energy Plan provide reasonable insight into what the present government is committed to.
The Liberal plan is geared toward multi level rate relief for customers. The across-the-board 25% reduction backed by a series of subsidies based on economic need.
It also curbs the construction of new generation and pushes back the Bruce refurbishment to keep energy rates from climbing.
I expected mention of an overhaul of the wholesale market model used in Ontario since it is outdated and has been undermined by commitments to generators outside of the market. None of the parties want to mention this one because it isn’t likely to influence voters and not nearly as controversial as some other issues.
Unfortunately the Liberals have had too many strikes against them in the energy portfolio to have much credibility left, however they are the only ones that have put forward anything tangible for the coming election.
Too bad…
too little, too late
Derek
