Ontario Overpaying for Electricity

Vincent J. Curtis

10 Dec 14

The Auditor-General of Ontario recently released a report in which she claimed that Ontarians were overpaying for electricity.  She blamed in part the use of so-called smart meters, devices which enable the customer to be billed for electrical use during peak and off-peak hours.  Minister Bob Chiarelli defended the Ontario government, saying the Auditor-General (who once worked for Manitoba Hydro!) did not understand the complexity of Ontario's electrical system - as if he, a complete amateur - did.  Below is my unpublished comment to my hometown newspaper.

Sirs;

Why should anyone be surprised that Ontarians are overpaying for electricity?  The system we have today is largely the product of the madcap electrical policies of Dalton McGuinty, who believed in global warming.  This is the man who also believed that raising taxes would balance the Ontario budget.

One should not be surprised either that Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli would dispute the auditor’s conclusions.  HIs government was the one responsible for the present mess, and this mess was created on a set of beliefs the auditor did not accept and which turned out to be false.

Minister Chiarelli was disingenuous to say that the auditor didn’t understand the ‘complex’ electricity system.  The complexity lies not in the electrical system but in justifying why, as the result of environmental correctness, the emperor is wearing no clothes.
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