Mar 03, 2017
By Jane Brown
Members of the Zoomers Advocacy Group CARP are pleased to hear Ontario hydro bills will be going down an additional 17 percent this June, but they’re not satisfied overall.
The official announcement was made on Thursday by Premier Kathleen Wynne, who admitted the move means taxpayers will have to pay extra interest on hydro contracts which will now be paid over a longer period of time to fund the rate cut.
Deputy Premier Deb Matthews told guest host Jane Brown on Zoomer Radio’s Fight Back with Libby Znaimer, the push in part by CARP members through the Heat or Eat campaign to bring down rates had an impact on the decision making process.
“That kind of advocacy does matter. We heard loud and clear from people right across the province that hydro rates were too high. That’s why we’ve taken the action we have done,” Matthews explained.
But CARP’s VP of Advocacy Wanda Morris says the time of day pricing still needs to be changed.
“I think it’s unduly punitive to seniors and others who spend a lot of time at their homes that they have to pay these top rates for doing the laundry or watching television in their homes during the day. We’d like to see something like another option where people can opt for a fixed rate, higher than the off-peak rate but much lower than the peak rate so they can manage those much more effectively,” Morris detailed. This particular change is part of the hydro plan offered earlier this week by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
To learn about advertising opportunities with Zoomer Radio use the link below: