Hydro One prices causing “outrage and concern,” MPP Smith says

Clutching her Hydro One bill, Buckhorn resident Kathy Katula told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week, “You have failed me, and I’m asking you today to fix that.” While Hydro One is actually a provincial responsibility, not that of the federal government, the video of Katula’s tearful question at a town-hall meeting with Trudeau has gone viral. Photo from YouTube

By Tara Henley

BELLEVILLE – Having to choose between buying groceries and paying their hydro bills is a reality that some residents face in the Quinte region, says Prince Edward-Hastings MPP Todd Smith.

“It’s caused a lot of outrage and concern, particularly with small business owners and manufacturing plants,” said Smith, the Conservatives’ associate energy critic for the sale of Hydro One. Over the last three years, the majority of cases his constituency office has worked are residents concerned with soaring hydro costs, he said.

“Because Hydro One isn’t working the way they want it to, the Liberal government is trying to wash their hands of it,” Smith said, referring to the privatization of 30 per cent of the company in 2016. Hydro One has since released a statement vowing to sell another third, leaving less than half of the utility in public hands.

A video of a resident of the village of Buckhorn tearfully asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about her hydro bills during a town hall forum in Peterborough last week has brought the issue of hydro rates back into the spotlight. Kathy Katula is one of many rural residents across Ontario voicing concern.

“I’m asking you, Mr. Trudeau … how is it justified for you to ask me to pay a carbon tax when I only have $65 left in my paycheque every two weeks to feed my family?” she asked, referring to her climbing monthly hydro bill.

Katula, like many rural Ontarians, lives in a region recently reclassified by Hydro One as a “low density” area rather then the previous “medium density.” The utility’s delivery charges for low-density areas are higher. According to an article by Global News, this means people living in the country  are hit the hardest and hydro bills may be up 11.5 per cent by the end of 2017. 

Kathy Katula says that even though she works 15 hours a day as a personal support worker, her increasing hydro bills mean she can barely afford weekly groceries. Her bills have recently totalled over $900 a month. Photo by Kathy Katula via Facebook

Despite an eight-per-cent rebate on electricity charges put in place by the provincial government as of Jan. 1, delivery and maintenance rates have increased by as much as 25 per cent in low-density areas.

Smith called the decision to privatize Hydro One “short-sighted,” but added that it seems like the government is holding off on the sale announced most recently. That’s probably because of the resistance and outcry from residents across Ontario at the thought of their hydro bills increasing again, he said.

Homeowners are not the only ones affected by high hydro rates. Smith said some manufacturers may be forced to relocate to provinces where prices are lower. That’s one of the many reasons, he said, that he is continuing to put pressure on the provincial government to delay further Hydro One privatization.

“Hydro One’s decision to sell 60 per cent of the company makes no sense,” he said. “Even when it’s run this poorly, it makes almost $700 million a year. If it was actually run right, it could easily bring in an annual total well over $1 billion.”