Alan Findlay
Ottawa Sun
October 17, 2005

Toronto: Ontario’s electricity ratepayers have shelled out more than $5 billion to pay down the industry’s stranded debt, only to see it go up.

According to figures from a provincial agency’s annual reports, the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation has collected $2.9 billion from the debt retirement charge added to bills since 2002 and another $2.2 billion from a preceding customer-funded "revenue pool residual" dating back to 1999 – a total of $5.1 billion.

The so-called stranded debt inherited from the dismantled Ontario Hydro has grown by $930 million to $20.4 billion.

"The debt retirement charge should be renamed the debt slow-the-increase charge or the Ontario Power Generation party fund," said Tom Adams, director of Energy Probe.

Payments lacking

He blamed OPG’s high costs and lack of payments toward the stranded debt for the lack of progress in whittling it down.

OPG, Hydro One and smaller utilities are listed by the OEFC as other contributors to pay down the debt between 2012 and 2020.

Government officials blamed the rise in debt on a variety of costs including a $900-million rate cap brought in by the previous Tory government.

Energy Minister Donna Cansfield said that the debt dropped slightly last year.