The taxpayers are again by-passed with
Councils intents. Without public consultations, our mayor and
Ward 5 Councillor Doug Craig met with the Ontario Energy Board
to try to buy Hydro One assets. A takeover in my opinion would
be very costly to all hydro utility customers.
I am well served and content to be with Hydro
One provider. Our hydro utility charges are not much more than
any Greater Sudbury Utilities customer. We're charged .003
cents more per kilowatt hour but with all the other additional
charges, we make out pretty good.
Public consultations should have been carried
out firstly so that the taxpayers may have seen an impact
study. The rates are justified with Hydro One having different
classification, since distribution lines are long and dispersed
serving remote areas. I never encountered any problems with
Hydro One, so why as a customer, should I not have the choice
of my provider.
Years ago the City of Valley East underwent a
study about acquiring our own utility. The Hydro One assets for
us to purchase were over $10 million dollars. If Greater
Sudbury Utilities (GSU) was to purchase all of Hydro One assets
to create one unified utility for this city, taxpayers and
users would be facing a debenture in excess of $40 million
dollars.
Now who would be paying for this? All GSU
customers? Would it be under a classification such as Hydro
One? Or maybe area rating to those who are affected only? What
increase in staffing would be required? Would there be area
managers? Have we enough equipment to take over this
task?
Sudbury Hydro retains only about 20 percent
of a total invoice. With only 20 percent can they really
support this takeover without any rate increase? There are so
many more questions to this matter.
Let us not forget the promises amalgamation
was supposed to bring us. Lower taxes, better services, equity,
less administration cost, etc… We all know what we got. When I
watch a television commercial for "Capital One credit card," it
reminds me of this amalgamation with its "hands in my pocket"
tune.
For those of you that are Hydro One customers
you may voice your concerns to the Ontario Energy Board by
mail: Ontario Energy Board, P.O. Box 2319,
2300 Yonge St., Toronto, ON, M4P 1E4. Or
responses can be emailed to [email protected]
Roger Trottier
Valley East