Prepare for the Counter Attack

I have received a copy of a confidential document that outlines a propaganda campaign to being soon that is designed to convince the public that high energy bills are worth it.

The document is called "Renewable Energy Matters -- Campaign Outline". It was prepared on the 18th of Oct. The draft I have is a politically toned down version of a previous document.

This is some of what that document says:

A number of renewable energy developers have come together to form a lose coalition of interests, to promote renewable energy policy in Ontario and support the agenda set as part of the Green Energy and Economy Act and the Feed-in Tariff program.

The Liberal Government is also likely behind this. It goes on:

This coalition will be joined by other groups, such as Environmental Defence and the GEA Alliance, as well as labour, economic development, health and environmental stake holders, to develop a common messaging, communications tools (ie. paid and earned media) and targeted local campaigns in areas where opposition to renewable power exists.

That's you people at Wind Concerns Ontario.

This part is very interesting:

In this, it will be critical to "confuse" the issue in the political/public/media away from just price to include key value attribute such as jobs, clean air, farm income, etc. Renewables cannot be defined by price alone.

So there you have it. Be prepared for the con job of the century as these people try to convince the Ontario public that paying these high energy costs, losing your homes, getting cut off of power because you can't pay it, will all be worth it in the "big picture". How does it feel to be collateral damage?

Under the heading of Political and Policy Volatility this document acknowledges the costs of power are rising.

Prices for contracted power are skyrocketing -- even though HOEP [The
hourly price] as decreased, the Global Adjustment has risen exponentially.

The concern of this document, and hence the thrust of the campaign, is that the perception by the public is that renweables are to blame for these increases in rates (which of course it is). This document goes out of its way, including contradicting the Manufacturers and Exporters Association study that claimed 65% of coming price increases will be because of the Green Energy Act, to try and convince the public of this "misperception". This PR campaign will be about changing that perception -- with misinformation of course.

The document is worried that the next government will kill much of the GEA, thus ending the gravy train. "This needs to be addressed immediately" was emphasized. They're worried the free ride on your back will end.

The emphasis of the document is the message of jobs, jobs, jobs, in the green energy sector.

DO NOT GET FOOLED BY THIS!

Not all jobs are created equal. There are two broad categories of jobs. Wealth Creation Jobs and Non-wealth Creation Jobs. Wealth Creation Jobs are born in the private sector. They contribute to the wealth generation of the Province and country. Non-wealth Creation Jobs are necessary jobs, vital to run the economy, but they are paid for from the Wealth Creation Jobs in the form of taxes. Government jobs are Non-wealth Creation Jobs, and so too are all energy sector jobs. Energy consumption is not a wealth creation activity. It's the cost of doing business and running the economy. It consumes wealth not create it.

Thus there has to be more Wealth Creation Jobs than Non-wealth Creation Jobs to pay for those Non-wealth Creation Jobs. Renewable energy jobs actually are worse that just straight Non-wealth Creation Jobs. The experience in Spain and other EU countries is that for every renewables Non-wealth Creation Job created, 2.2 Wealth Creation Jobs are lost due to the high costs of energy intrinsic to renewable energy. So in effect, the GEA will kill more jobs than it creates, while at the same time putting the public into energy poverty.

There will be no punches held back in this coming PR campaign. This from their Core Messaging:

Further research is also required post spike in bill fury, including focus
groups to colour, wording and emotional to craft effective targeted messages.

In order to talk past the "noisy activists" and editorial positions, there needs to be a coordinated paid, earned and social media campaign. This should be both reactive and proactive.

This will be a three week campaign, with points for each week set out in a tactical and strategic manner. The document sets out a goal of $300,000 of seed money from developers and manufacturers.

That is, the money you pay for your hydro will be funneled to run this campaign which will be an effort to make you feel good about paying your high bills.


The bottom line of this is simple. They just don't get it.

Expect a major push back against this campaign. This next year leading up to the next election is going to get messy. Expect to get your hands dirty. I will be doing my part to expose this fraud.