Here we are, the day after the election.
Voters have made their choice and we now have a PC majority, NDP opposition, Liberal decimation and the first Green Party victory in Ontario.
It feels a bit like ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ and we had to choose between three doors.
Behind one door is a magnificent prize and behind the other two are ZONKS!
We have picked door number 1. But it isn’t going to open for another 21 days. June 29th 2018. Mark your calendar.
What lies behind the door?
Prosperity?
Or maybe Doug Ford in a bathrobe wearing a shower cap – or worse?
ZONK!
Yet another review of what the PC party has promised
Fire the Hydro One CEO and board of directors.
While this is not going to impact anyone’s bills, it is an important move for the new government. It is an opportunity to make their own patronage appointments to further their own agenda – whatever that is.
A right of passage.
It isn’t clear at this point exactly how they will do it without majority ownership in Hydro One, however we can never underestimate the resourcefulness of politicians when it comes to canning people.
And they have to do it. It would destroy their credibility if they didn’t – after making such a fuss. It would also be humiliating to know that the people running the company were friends of the Liberals.
This is nothing but a distraction, however it should have great entertainment value.
Like watching Survivor.
Throw them off the island!
On with the meaningful tasks
Clean up the hydro mess.
This is a big item and I am quite sure that there isn’t anyone in the PC party that knows how to do this. Their last attempt involved splitting up Ontario Hydro, creating energy markets and privatizing. It ended up with runaway rates, suspension of the retail energy market, a rate freeze and a moratorium on the sale of coal-fired generating plants. Lots of people who never had anything to do with the electrical energy sector made a ton of money. And then the PCs got kicked out of Queen’s Park. That was the common sense revolution. Sweet.
So here we go again. I hope history doesn’t repeat itself, however it has already started with rate subsidies and financial gymnastics that the average person would have difficulty understanding.
Lower bills for the average family by 12%.
I don’t see any credible explanation of how this is going to be implemented.
It is well within the government’s ability to make it happen. In 2017 they pulled $860 million profit from Ontario Power Generation. If they forked that over to ratepayers it would be more than 12% of their bills.
That doesn’t clean up the mess but helps with the smell.
Please don’t tell us that the subsidy will come from the Hydro One dividends. That money came essentially from Hydro One customers. They only make up 25% of ratepayers. There needs to be a solution that is fair for all rate payers.
Move the cost of conservation programs to the general tax base.
Approximately $28 dollars a year will be moved from your electricity bill to your income tax. I’m not even going to comment on that.
Place an immediate moratorium on any new energy contracts while walking back and re-negotiating existing contracts
The moratorium is great news, however it is a long-term benefit to ratepayers. We are stuck with the existing contracts for the next 20 to 40 years.
This is the only item in the PC pre-election campaign that shows any understanding of the root-cause of the high hydro bills. It is only the tip of the iceberg.
In 21 days, the honeymoon’s over and we get to see what is really behind door #1
Common sense isn’t that common. If we had it – we wouldn’t be in such a mess
Derek
