NEWS:

QUEEN’S PARK – On the heels of learning that Ontario families paid another $6.6 million to export power last Sunday, Ontario PC candidate Rocco Rossi highlighted a report from Aegent Energy Advisors saying that Dalton McGuinty’s Samsung deal could make the problem much worse.

Aegent Energy Advisors notes that if all of the Samsung power came online tomorrow, almost all of it would have to be exported at an annual cost to Ontario families by up to $786 million. Aegent estimates that for a typical Ontario family this would drive up their hydro bill by another $65 a year.

What is most offensive to Ontario families is that Dalton McGuinty continues to sell surplus power to New York and Quebec at a time when Ontario families are paying record amounts for power. On Sunday, Dalton McGuinty was charging Ontario families up to 80 cents per kilowatt hour while paying neighbouring jurisdictions over 20 cents per kilowatt hour to take Ontario power off our hands.

QUOTES:

“Families cannot continue to subsidize these energy exports and experiments. Now we learn that Dalton McGuinty’s Samsung deal will make this problem even more. Dalton McGuinty has made a mess of our energy system. It is time for change in Ontario.”
– Rocco Rossi, Ontario PC Candidate for Eglinton-Lawrence

“The mess Dalton McGuinty has made of the energy system means that on Sunday Ontario was buying power at a cost of over one dollar higher than it was selling it. I think most Ontarians know you can’t sell things at a dollar loss. It’s too bad Dalton McGuinty doesn’t understand.”
– Rocco Rossi, Ontario PC Candidate for Eglinton-Lawrence

QUICK FACTS:

• According to a report issued by Aegent Energy Advisors: “if the Samsung generation came online tomorrow, most or all of it would be exported. This would result in an additional annual cost to the province of about $786 million. For a typical residential consumer, the annual bill impact would be $65.” (Aegent Energy Advisors, http://www.aegent.ca/newsletters/SamsungRenewableUpdate.html)
• According to calculations performed by energy consultant Tom Adams, ratepayers paid $52.8 million in December 2010 to subsidize sales to Quebec and the US.
• According to the former head of the Ontario Power Authority, Jan Carr, Ontario electricity customers have subsidized power exports to the tune of $1 billion since 2006.