Hydro One is requesting a rate increase for each of the next five years and public hearings are being held Wednesday in Sudbury.

MPP Vic Fedeli says he’ll be bringing the message from Nipissing residents to the session.

He wants to know who actually sets the rates.

“Everytime there’s bad news the government tells us it’s not them, it’s the Ontario Energy Board and everytime there’s good news, like this supposed fair hydro price, then the government tells
us it’s them that sets the rates,” he says.

Fedeli says he wants to tell the board that because of skyrocketing hydro rates Ontarians are being forced to decide whether to heat or eat.

“I want to ask them why you think it’s fair to burden Ontario families with a rate increase and then pay your CEO of Hydro One $4.5-million a year,” he added.
By comparison, Fedeli says the CEO’s of Quebec and BC Hydro earn about $400,000.

Officials with Hydro One, meantime, say with the Fair Hydro Plan coming into effect, the increase will be mitigated by the reductions taking effect with provincial plan.

Hydro One Vice President of Corporate Affairs Natalie Poole-Moffatt says there is much-needed infrastructure work tied into the rate increases.

“This finally means we can replace more than 72,000 poles over the next five years, refurbish 15 transformer stations and maintain almost 13,000 km or right of way with forestry work,” she says.

Poole-Moffatt says they have 400,000 wooden poles that are reaching their end of life.

“They’re 62, 65 years old, and while we will continue to monitor them, it does mean we have to start thinking about replacing them,” she adds.

If approved, a typical Hydro One residential customer would see monthly increases* of:
+$2.79 (2018)
+$2.47 (2019)
+$2.31 (2020)
+$1.95 (2021)
+$2.23 (2022)
*These amounts do not include any credits resulting from the Fair Hydro Act, 2017

Filed under: MPP Vic Fedeli, OEB hearing