Since the Liberals came into power in 2003, residents have seen their energy bills increase by 300%. As of July 1st the HST was added to our costs of energy increasing our bills by another 8%. I took a look at my recent hydro bill and noticed that we pay a delivery charge, and debt servicing charge, and of course taxes. Between the delivery charge, debt charge, and taxes we actually pay more than the actual cost of the energy we use.
Now we have the Liberals bringing in smart meters, and telling us that if we use our hydro during certain times we will pay more. How can any government justify telling our seniors that if you do your laundry or cook your dinner between 5pm - 9pm you will have to pay more due to the demand on the energy grid.
Due to the backlash of increasing energy costs the Provincial Liberals decided to offer us a 10% montlhy rebate on our hydro bills for the next 5 years at a cost of 1 billion dollars. So you ask where is this money for the rebate coming from? Well this is the kicker as we the taxpayers are paying for our own rebate.
So now you have the Liberals blaming the Conservative for the 8 years of neglect to our energy grid when they were in power from 1995 to 2003, and the Conservatives blaming both the Liberals, the current government, and the NDP who were in power from 1990 to 1995. I'm really, really getting sick of these three political parties blaming one another for the problems we are facing today and in the future. Our energy grid is currently operating way below capacity, and this is not because of Green energy coming on line, but it has to do with the recession. When you have plants closing left and right during the past several years demand has been reduced, and therefore you have a surplus of energy. While our electrical grid is old and out dated, we still have to invest money in maintaining, and upgrading the grid to meet future demand.
Coal fire generation plants are being phased out, and need to be replaced with other forms that produce energy. One of many ideas being floated around is turning waste into energy. This process is being used in Peel, and it's been used in Europe for decades with great success. Now some will say, and have said that this process is not good for the environment, and tests have shown that this is just not the case. If it was bad for the environment, then it would not have been a success in Europe. The costs to build a waste energy plant is a tenth of what it would cost to build a Nuke plant.
Another very cheap way to produce energy is via solar, and the last time I checked the sun was free. Again in Europe and parts of the United States solar panels on homes and buildings have not only paid for themselves as home owners have not had to pay a cent for electricty, but they have actually received money back as they are putting more energy into the grid then they are using. Gee what a concept, install solar panels on homes and businesses and actually get a check each and every month.
Then you have wind energy which is also free to capture and convert into energy, but the costs to build a wind turbine can get costly, and placing them in rural Ontario has proven to be a big issues with small towns across Ontario.
So with all the different ways to produce energy, governments need to think outside of the box and use the ideas I've listed above to produce energy at a fraction of the costs, thus saving, or even giving the people of Ontario more money in their pockets so they can support their familes. However I would not put any faith into the current crop of political parties at Queens Park to do what's right and invest into the future. Why am I so negative about this? The answer is simple, when has any government done the right thing for you and me. It's all politics for the big three as they only care about who can up the other guy, and we are always the ones left out in the cold.
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