Category Archives: Utility Reform

Ontario ratepayers subsidize taxpayers

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Other News Sources

(November 15, 2011) Ontario ratepayers are helping to hold down municipal taxes and the provincial debt, says Energy Probe director Parker Gallant. Continue reading →

Posted in Power Generation in Ontario, Reforming Ontario's Local Electrical Distribution Sector, Reforming Ontario's Local Electrical Distribution Sector | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ontario Energy Prices: Frankly Bogus

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Other News Sources

Omitted Costs, Inflated Benefits, a study I co-authored with Glenn Fox for the Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society a week ago, has been discovered by the media and the Ministry of Energy. While we will have to wait until October 20th to hear the cabinet appointments by Premier McGuinty, that didn’t stop the Legislature’s most recent Minister of Energy, Brad Duguid from commenting on the study. Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy Probe News, Power Generation in Ontario, Reforming Ontario's Electrical Generation Sector, Renewables | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ontario’s Power Trip: The $4000 electricity bill

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Other News Sources

For the average ratepayer, an annual electricity bill will escalate from $1,700 per year to $2,800 by 2015 and by the time the renewables envisaged in the LTEP are largely in place (expected in 2018) an average ratepayer will be paying in excess of $4,000 annually — well over a doubling. Put another way Ontario’s ratepayers will be paying in excess of 40¢ per kWh, placing them on a par with Denmark, which suffers the highest cost of electricity in the developed world. Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy Probe News, Power Generation in Ontario, Reforming Ontario's Electrical Generation Sector, Renewables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Parker Gallant: The forgotten directive

Posted on September 12, 2011 by energyprbe

(September 12, 2011) Parker Gallant’s article discusses the impact of Ontario’s Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) programs on Ontario energy taxpayers. While the FIT programs have been a great investment opportunity for investors, the majority of Ontarians suffered since OPG could not participate in the gold rush. Continue reading →

Posted in Power Generation in Ontario, Renewables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lawrence Solomon: It’s in our interest to break Syria into pieces

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Other News Sources

If Assad is given the boot, the West should take charge and break it up. Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Probe News, International | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Parker Gallant: OPG’s creative accounting

Posted on September 1, 2011 by energyprbe

(September 1, 2011) Ontario Power Generation recently released its 2nd Quarter results. On the surface all seems well with OPG — it announced an after tax (Payments in Lieu of taxes) profit for the quarter of $114 million for the 6 months ended June 30, 2011 versus $40 million for the comparable quarter in 2010. Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Probe News, Power Generation in Ontario, Reforming Ontario's Electrical Generation Sector | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Parker Gallant: Turning OEFC’s “Stranded Debt” into Political Spin

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Other News Sources

(August 22, 2011) Dates appearing on the most recent annual report by the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation (OEFC) give reason to believe that the report not only has yet to be tabled, but its early release may something to do with the Progressive Conservative’s promise to remove the “Debt Retirement Charge” from electricity bills and the Liberals’ plan to keep the DRC on electricity bills until remaining debts have been resolved. Continue reading →

Posted in Power Generation in Ontario | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lawrence Solomon: Tyranny of the north

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Lawrence Solomon

(August 19, 2011) Venezuela’s dictator, Hugo Chavez, was in the news this week for brashly announcing an expropriation of the mineral rights of the citizens of his country. We don’t seize private property that way in our democracy. We seize it silently and in plain sight, as seen in the province of Alberta, which so deftly passed stealth legislation two years ago that most Albertans are only now discovering the government’s audacious takeover of their property rights. Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Power Industry, Climate Change, Coal, Costs, Benefits and Risks, Electricity, Fossil Fuels, Tar Sands | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Parker Gallant: Hydro One’s free pass

Posted on August 17, 2011 by energyprbe

(August 17, 2011) Hydro One’s financial statements are out, yet despite all of the media attention about the electricity sector in Ontario, the financial results of the publicly owned power utilities attract no attention. Odd, since they are the instruments that the government uses to execute its controversial policies under the Green Energy Act. Continue reading →

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Parker Gallant: The wind industry’s spin

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Lawrence Solomon

(August 2, 2011) In Greek Mythology Aeolus was the “King of Wind” but in Canadian Mythology the King of Wind is CanWEA; a not-for-profit association of 420 members including public and private companies, legal firms, manufacturers, ect. and others who feed off of the largess of taxpayers and ratepayers to ensure they retain their mandated (Ontario’s Green Energy Act) place on the energy podium. Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Electricity, Power Generation in Ontario, Reforming Ontario's Electrical Generation Sector, Reforming Ontario's Local Electrical Distribution Sector, Renewables | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments