HYDRO RATES INCREASE MAY 1ST

For Immediate Release

April 29, 2016

Hydro rates increase May 1st

WOODSTOCK – Ernie Hardeman, MPP for Oxford, said it is unfair that the government is hiking hydro rates again, penalizing people and businesses that have been trying to conserve.

“The government told us that switching to time of use pricing and increasing rates was to encourage conservation,” said Hardeman. “Now the government is increasing hydro rates because people haven’t been using enough energy, that’s unfair.”

As of May 1^st hydro rates will increase, with the rate for the peak period jumping to 18 cents a kilowatt hour. That will cost the average family an additional $37.56 a year.

Since November, 2015, hydro bills have increased by an average of $186.96 a year.

“I hear all the time from people and businesses that are already struggling to pay their hydro bills,” said Hardeman. “They have done everything they can to conserve and now they are being penalized for that. People just can’t win in Wynne’s Ontario”

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For more information, contact:

Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford

(416) 325-1239