Ontario electricity prices to rise 52 per cent from 2017 to 2035

The cost of electricity in Ontario for homes and businesses will keep on rising over the next 20 years — albeit not quite as high as once predicted — as the effects of the provincial Liberal government’s plan to lower power bills kick in and then wear off.

The government released an update to its long-term energy plan Thursday, projecting the average monthly residential bill for electricity in Ontario will dip to $127 in 2017 from $158 in 2016, helped by savings from the Liberals’ so-called “Fair Hydro Plan.”

The projections also show, however, that the average power bill will ultimately rise from $127 this year to $193 by 2035, a 52 per cent increase.

“Certainly the measures brought forward in our Fair Hydro Plan have an effect, but it is well known that our government has taken major steps to remove costs from our electricity system, now and in the future,” Ontario Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault told reporters Thursday in Toronto, according to a copy of his remarks.

Meanwhile, large industrial customers in southern Ontario will see the price per megawatt hour they pay for electricity increase from $83 this year to $116 by 2035, according to the projections. The government sees this as rising in line with inflation, but the cost still ends up nearly 40 per cent greater than that of today.

For industrial consumers in Northern Ontario, the price of power will rise from $63 per megawatt hour in 2017 to $96 by 2035, another 52 per cent jump, according to the long-term energy plan.

Industrial consumers have complained about pricey energy costs, with a recent Fraser Institute study finding that nearly 75,ooo of the manufacturing jobs lost by the province from 2008 to 2015 could be chalked up to the increased expense.

Read more : Financial Post