FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 20, 2014
SIMCOE – When Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett heard about a constituent who will be forced to put their house for sale due to skyrocketing energy costs, he hit the roof.
“This situation is spiraling out of control,” he said. “It’s a sad statement on the current energy policy when a senior will be forced to sell the home they’ve worked their entire life for because Old Age Pension doesn’t pay the bill.”
And the situation will only get worse.
This week natural gas suppliers applied for a 40 per cent increase in gas rates due to demand outstripping supply. Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli predicted this could have ramifications on electricity prices due to the dependence on natural gas generation. As a result, electricity prices could go even higher.
“If this situation wasn’t so pathetic, it would be an ‘I told-you-so moment’,” Barrett said. “My party colleagues and I have long said the current government’s energy plan is a disaster. Our energy prices are already amongst the highest in North America. Now they are going to go higher because of poor planning on generation methods? What’s it going to take for the premier to realize people can’t afford their energy policies?”
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