FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 6, 2017
SIMCOE – The amount of waste in conjunction with the government’s handling of the electricity file continues to grow exponentially.
The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers did their own calculation of the government’s electricity statistics and found $1 billion worth of clean electricity was wasted in 2016. This equates to 7.6 terawatt-hours, or enough to power 760,000 homes for a year. The number is a 58 per cent increase in the amount wasted in 2015.
The calculation looks at the potential power that could be generated, but is not. This results in hydroelectric dams letting water spill over the top, and nuclear plants releasing steam instead of using it to power turbines. The calculation also takes into account the electricity sold at less than the cost of production.
“Now, in addition to the auditor general, we have an independent source verifying how much the government’s mismanagement has cost Ontario electricity users,” said Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett.
A week after the engineers released their study, news broke that the National Energy Board approved a $1 billion underwater transmission line to connect Nanticoke, which is in Barrett’s riding, to Erie, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the line, which is being built by ITC Lake Erie LLC, is to export Ontario energy to the States.
“It raises the question of why a for-profit company can build a $1 billion line and make money selling Ontario electricity into the United States, but our government can’t,” Barrett asked.
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For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org