Ontario Homeowners Get The Shaft From McGuinty Government

Ontario homeowners are expected to get rebates by year's end for overpaying on hydro bills last year but consumers won't be getting back all they deserve. Ontario Energy Minister Donna Cansfield said consumers will get an average rebate on their hydro bill of about $60, with some homeowners receiving as much as $95 and an average small business getting $150. The rebates are owed because electricity prices last year were lower than the price estimated in advance by the province. There is a large descrepincy between the Electricity Consumer Price Protection Fund of $495 million that Ontario homeowners are set to share and the reported figure of $528 million that the government listed on their books. When asked by reporters, Ontario Energy Minister Donna Cansfield had difficulty explaining this or where any accumulated interest on the price protection fund had gone instead she passed the buck to Ronald Kwan of the Finance Ministry.

From:Canadian Press' Steve Erwin

Ronald Kwan of the Finance Ministry said the $528 million was an "estimate" of what Ontario Electricity Financial Corp. expected to receive. When actual cash receipts reached the government, Kwan said the surplus reached $565 million -- $70 million more than the amount being returned to consumers. But Kwan said that $70 million did not come from electricity users under the government's interim pricing plan, but instead came from consumers who bought electricity on the spot market -- typically large industrial users. That $70 million was used to pay off Ontario's hydro debt, which was built up over the years mostly due to expensive cost overruns at nuclear facilities. Reducing that so-called stranded debt should reduce the amount of time customers have to pay a debt-retirement charge on their bills, said Richard Jennings of the Ministry of Energy.

Where is this money? Burried in a very large government backyard? or maybe they collected all this money and stuck it in one of their low interest Canada Savings Bonds. Thank you Uncle Scrooge McGuinty for the early Christmas gift I'll enjoy the new energy saving can opener I'll buy with my $60.

Later,
Kenaz