Rural communities may be eligible for even greater reductions
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced a province-wide initiative to cut electricity bills by 25 per cent.
This summer, the Ontario Fair Hydro Plan will provide the relief to customers, including small businesses and farms. And some who live in eligible rural communities could receive larger reductions. The government also plans to enhance the Rural or Remote Rate Protection program.
"It's positive news because farmers are big users of hydro in one way or another," said Barry Senft, CEO, Grain Farmers of Ontario. "Not only in their households but for grain drying too. Any relief to what has been a significant increase over the past four years is welcome."
Both Wynne and Ontario Minister of Agriculture Jeff Leal said hydro is always an important topic during provincial visits.
“I have heard from people around the province who are worried about the price they are asked to pay for electricity and the impact it has on their household budget,” Premier Wynne said in a release, adding that electricity is a necessity.
"Electricity rates are an issue I have heard about from rural residents, members of the agri-food community and small businesses in my travels across Ontario," Minister Leal said in an OMAFRA release. "These hydro rates are fairer for everyone and will help to lessen the burden felt by people living in rural communities, including our hardworking farmers, agri-food businesses and small businesses in Ontario."
Some of the people who voiced concerns over hydro rates came from farms in Ontario.
Maaike Campbell, a producer from Lambton County, said the relief is welcome but wonders why it took so long.
"If you can drop the hydro rate by 25 per cent overnight, how long have we been overcharged on this necessary business utility?"
And Amy Matheson, a dairy farmer from Oxford County, said the the cut is a good start but more work is needed.
"(Farmers) certainly welcome a reduction because energy is a critical component in how we do business," she said. "But 25 per cent doesn't undo the damage that's been done. Ontario continues to effectively make agriculture less competitive in a global market."
But even with the announcement, at least one Ontario producer is skeptical about the hydro cuts.
“When I go out to the barn to do chores at night I have to turn the lights on,” Emma Butler, a beef producer from Chatham-Kent, told Farms.com on Thursday. “We do what we have to (in order to) survive and sustain our way of life. A price cut (is) nice. However, it sounds like a padded response to dodge real issues.”
In January, Libby Keenan, a farmer from Amherstburg, took to social media to share her concerns with hydro rates and the toll they take on her horse farm. The post went viral and Keenan found herself in a meeting with the Premier.
In December 2016, Dianne Dowling, a dairy farmer and Kingston-area president of the National Farmers Union, was named a plaintiff in a lawsuit against Premier Wynne, Minister of Finance Charles Sousa and Minister of Energy Glenn Thibault. The lawsuit alleged selling shares of Hydro One showed no consideration for people outside of urban centres.