HAMILTON, July 8th, 2015: A new report from the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) and 40 chambers of commerce and boards of trade, calls on the Government of Ontario to tackle the impact of rising electricity costs on the business community. After extensive stakeholder consultation, the report makes five recommendations that government and energy agencies must take to curb rising costs and keep businesses in the province.

“Summer is heating up and so is the price of electricity,” said Huzaifa Saeed, Policy and Research Analyst for the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. “The price of electricity in Ontario is set to rise over the next two decades, adding to cumulative the cost of doing business in the province. There is an urgent need for policy initiatives to mitigate these increases or else businesses will leave the province, jobs will be lost, stifling the already hit sectors in Hamilton like manufacturing.”

Among the report’s recommendations is to keep the Debt Retirement Charge (DRC) on residential bills until it has been retired and voluntary merger of local hydro distributors. The report also examines options that government should not take, such as importing hydroelectric power from Québec to replace nuclear generation and cancelling feed-in tariff (FIT) contracts.

The Chamber also recommends that government improve the transparency of electricity pricing and system cost drivers. By publishing average electricity rates and disclosing the costs of important investments, government will be held accountable for future decision-making. Currently, less than half of Ontarians understand the drivers that contribute to rising electricity bills.

“The Ontario Chamber Network of 60,000 businesses consistently hears that the price of electricity is undermining their members’ capacity to grow, hire new workers, and attract investment,” said Allan O’Dette, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “The Government of Ontario has before them a number of decisions that must be made in order to bend the trajectory of soaring electricity costs. A first step will be to increase the transparency of decision-making in the system so that there is clear accountability and confidence in the electricity market.”

The report is accompanied by public opinion research from Leger, which cautions that soaring electricity prices have reached a crisis point for Ontario businesses and consumers. The research finds that 81 percent of Ontarians are concerned that rising electricity prices will impact the health of the Ontario economy and the same percentage fear that rising electricity prices will impact their disposable income. These numbers rise to over 90 percent in northern Ontario.

“The rising costs of electricity are a particular concern to the business community in Hamilton” added Saeed. “A recent poll by Leger showed that approximately 88 percent of respondents in Hamilton-Niagara were concerned that rising electricity prices will impact the health of the Ontario economy and their disposable income, significantly above the Ontario and GTA average.

You can read the report here: OCC Policy Report: Empowering Ontario

You can read the Leger Public Opinion Poll results here: Addendum_Leger Survey Results_EnergyinOntario

–30–

Media Contact:

Huzaifa Saeed | Policy & Research Analyst, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce

T: 905-522-1151 ext: 230 C: 905-220-3030 E: h.saeed@hamiltonchamber.ca

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn