TORONTO - Ontario's auditor general is set to report today on the Liberal government's 25 per cent cuts to hydro bills, which came after increasing anger over rising prices.
It's safe to say auditor general Bonnie Lysyk's report will not be a favourable one, as she has indicated it is titled, "The Fair Hydro Plan: Concerns About Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Value for Money."
The hydro plan lowers time-of-use rates by removing from bills a portion of the global adjustment, a charge consumers pay for above-market rates to power producers, and for the next 10 years, a new entity overseen by Ontario Power Generation will take on debt to pay that difference.
Ontario's financial watchdog has said that plan means hydro customers will be paying a net $21 billion over the next three decades to get short-term savings.
Lysyk has also previously said having OPG manage that means there will be no impact on the province's net debt -- currently at about $312 billion -- and she has suggested it may have been structured that way on purpose.
Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault has said OPG has expertise in managing hydro-related debt.
