Rob Ferguson - Toronto Star
Taking heat over rising hydro bills, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday the government will consider lowering electricity prices for off-peak use after 9 p.m.
The move comes amid reports that electricity users on so-called “smart meters” aren’t conserving power during high-demand periods throughout the day by putting off appliance use until off-peak hours, likely because the rates aren’t that much lower.
“We may have to take a look at that,” McGuinty acknowledged.
“The whole idea is that if you’re going motivate people, if you’re going to inspire them to do things at unusual times not in keeping with their usual habits, then we’ve got to make sure there’s a real incentive for them.”
One problem with the new system is that off-peak rates for electricity – which apply from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. – went up 20 per cent in the last year, to 5.3 cents per kilowatt hour from 4.2 cents.
It’s about time the government recognizes hydro bills are pinching the pocketbooks of consumers, given that the new 13 per cent harmonized sales tax also applies to electricity, said Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill).
“He’s finally seeing the light, as it were – no pun intended,” added Shurman, who has seen constituents whose electricity bills went up 50 per cent during the long, hot summer despite trying to take advantage of off-peak rates.
“Something’s got to give,” Shurman said. “It’s simply unaffordable.”
The current peak rate for electricity from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. is 9.9 cents per kWh, up from 9.1 cents in 2009, and the mid-peak rate is 8 cents, up from 7.6 cents per kWh last year.
The complaints about hydro bills are finding their way to the government, McGuinty said.
“We’ve have heard some of that as well and there should be an appropriate price differential in place that, in fact, rewards people for changing their behaviours.”
McGuinty said hydro rates have been rising because the government has spent $8 billion on new electricity generation projects and $4 billion on transmission line upgrades to modernize the system. The new generation projects include a 10-kilometre tunnel under Niagara Falls.
“These are significant new investments that are absolutely essential to modernize and build a reliable, clean electricity system. There are costs associated with that,” he told reporters.
His comments came a day after the Legislature returned for its fall session and both opposition parties slammed his government for making life less affordable, setting the stage for a year of battling for public opinion until the next provincial election on Oct. 6, 2011.