TORONTO - The switch to time-of-use pricing for electricity will be delayed until after the fall election for about one-third of Ontario homes and small businesses, prompting Opposition charges the program was botched.
Local utilities representing about 1.5 million hydro customers from Windsor, London, Mississauga, Burlington, Sudbury and other communities have applied to the Ontario Energy Board for more time to make the change.
Enersource Hydro of Mississauga told the board it was concerned about people flooding its call centre with inquiries about the changes, "as well as the high risk of errors in converting such a large number of customers to time-of-use billing in a short period of time."
It is a lot of work for local distribution companies to make the change, but Ontario is far ahead of other jurisdictions and wants to make sure it's done right, said Energy Minister Brad Duguid.
"Some of the local distribution companies have complex billing systems and they need to do the work to make this adjustment, and certainly we want them to take the time to get it right," said Duguid. "We're not putting added pressure on LDCs, other than we want it done as soon as they can."
The Liberal government tried to do too much too fast with its $1.5-billion smart meter program, said Progressive Conservative energy critic John Yakabuski.
"There is a huge number of customers affected by this and a large number of utilities who are saying that the government's plan was unworkable, undoable, and the time lines they've been given are simply not achievable," said Yakabuski. "They have literally botched it from the start, and they're trying to save face because they know it's been an absolute mess."
The New Democrats said the local distribution companies, most of which are municipally owned, are actually doing the Liberals a favour by delaying the switch to the new pricing system until after the vote.
"It certainly would help the Liberals more than it would help anyone else," said NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns. "(Time of use pricing) just irritates people."
The Progressive Conservatives say they'll give people the option of staying on fixed hydro rates if they win the Oct. 6 election, and suggested that may be why some utilities are delaying the switch.
"If they're waiting until after the election they may be perhaps trying to ensure they can avoid doing something they may not have to do," said Yakabuski.
The New Democrats said they will release their position on time-of-use pricing shortly, along with their campaign platform.
The Liberals have been under attack from the opposition for spending about $1.5 billion to install 4.5 million smart meters in homes and small businesses. People won't be fooled by Tory promises to turn back the clock on the electricity file, said Duguid.
"I'm very confident Ontario families are going to recognize that we want to be prepared for our energy future here in Ontario, and they're going to elect a government that ensures that we're there," he said.
The Liberals say time-of-use pricing gives consumers the option to lower bills by doing laundry and other activities with heavy electricity demand in off-peak hours.
However, the Tories and NDP say even people who want to save energy and take advantage of time-of-use pricing find they are still paying more for electricity.
"We're finding that people that cannot shift their demand -- and not everybody is in a position to shift their demand -- are actually being harmed quite significantly," said Yakabuski. "If you look at the price increases from 4.3 cents (a kilowatt hour) to 10.4 cents, that represents a 150 per cent increase."
The NDP said the money used to install smart meters would have been better spent on actual electricity conservation programs and ways to help homeowners lower their hydro bills.
"If they had put in place programs to help people conserve energy and shrink their bills off the top, then that would have been far more acceptable and beneficial to the people of Ontario," said Tabuns. "They certainly in the end botched what they called a conservation initiative."
