Ontario’s electricity consumers are being zapped for tens of billions of dollars due to overpriced green energy, poor government planning, and shoddy service from Hydro One, says auditor general Bonnie Lysyk.
In her annual report, she concluded ratepayers forked out $37 billion more than necessary from 2006 to 2014 and will spend an additional $133 billion by 2032 due to global adjustment electricity fees on hydro bills.
In 14 value-for-money audits spanning 773 pages, Lysyk also shone a light on problems with Ontario’s 47 children’s aid societies — including dubious executive expenses — community care access centres, and school buses to the bungled SAMS social assistance computer system and the lack of a plan for dealing with contaminated waste.
The comments appeared to rattle investors. Hydro One’s shares dipped 3.9 per cent to $21.95 on the Toronto Stock Exchange after debuting last month at $20.50.
Lysyk cited “more frequent power outages, mostly because assets aren’t being fully maintained” and infrequent tree trimming around power lines in her last audit of the company.
She found Ontario’s push to promote wind and solar energy is unnecessarily costly and the government ignored warnings from the now-defunct Ontario Power Authority that some power plants, like a biomass-fuelled station near Thunder Bay, were prohibitively expensive.
