Gas plant fiasco requires rethink of Liberal bill to remove oversight of electricity plans

Queen’s Park: Ontario’s electricity plans must be transparent and independently reviewed to protect consumers from cost overruns says GPO leader Mike Schreiner. Bill 75, currently before the legislature, would remove independent oversight of electricity plans.

“The Liberal’s gas plant fiasco demonstrates that Ontario needs more transparency and accountability in electricity planning, not less,” says Schreiner. “McGuinty wants to remove requirements for independent scrutiny of electricity decisions. This should ring alarm bells.”
 
Bill 75 would give the Minister of Energy the power to proceed with billion dollar nuclear projects without an independent review of costs or alternatives. No nuclear project in Ontario’s history has come in on time or on budget. Ontarians are still paying for nuclear debt on their electricity bills each month.
 
“Without an independent review of nuclear costs and alternatives, Ontarians will need to hold onto our pocketbooks,” says Schreiner. “What is the government hiding? Why are they afraid of publicly reviewing costs and alternatives?”
 
The GPO is calling on MPPs to amend Bill 75 to require electricity system plans to be issued and independently reviewed. Electricity consumers must be protected from cost overruns, and planning must prioritize lower cost options such as conservation and efficiency.
 
“We need to hit the pause button on the Liberal’s nuclear plans,” says Schreiner. “The Premier has admitted that his government didn’t get it right in the first place on million dollar gas plants. We can’t have him make the same mistake on billion dollar nuclear plants.”
 
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