The Ford government is proposing to wind down the previous Liberal administration’s 25-per-cent-off hydro plan by putting the taxpayer-funded subsidy on the province’s books while keeping electricity price increases to the rate of inflation.Energy Minister Greg Rickford said the changes would be made through the Progressive Conservatives’ “Fixing the Hydro Mess Act” tabled Thursday in the legislature. It would also reform the Ontario Energy Board and “refocus” $442 million in electricity conservation programs — a number of which will be cancelled, such as “instant discounts” in stores on energy-efficient items like LED light bulbs, light fixtures and power bars.Officials said home electricity bills would not change but would clearly show how much subsidy each customer is receiving, to the tune of almost $2 billion a year added to the provincial deficit. Rickford said this method — which will scrap $4 billion in long-term borrowing costs for the Liberal plan — is “much more transparent.” “The games of smoke and mirrors are over,” he told a news conference, saying customers need to know the “true cost” of hydro. “We’re focused on the stability of the cost of electricity,” Rickford added, pledging to continue to work toward fulfilling an election promise to cut rates a further 12 per cent.New Democrat MPP Peter Tabuns, his party’s energy critic, warned the Conservative plan is “setting the grounds for big debt.”Green Leader Mike Schreiner said the change in how the hydro rate cut plan is accounted for and paid for is a shell game, and that Rickford’s effort is merely giving the former Liberal government’s plan “a fresh coat of paint.”It’s also a disincentive to conserve electricity, Schreiner added, which is a wrong-headed move given that it’s cheaper to conserve power than to make it. ...
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