Ontario Tories would scrap smart meters
Lee Greenberg, Postmedia News: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
http://www.globaltoronto.com/ontario+tories+would+scrap+smart+meters/3528964/story.html
TORONTO - Ontario
Opposition leader Tim Hudak will allow consumers to switch off their smart meters if elected in 2011, he said Wednesday.
Responding to reports of the program's ineffectiveness, Hudak said he would allow hydro customers to revert to flat-rate pricing.
"These smart meters are expensive experiments," Hudak said in a statement. "(Premier) Dalton McGuinty needs to freeze the installation, fix the problems and prove to families this will save them money. As premier, I will give families a choice."
Energy Minister Brad Duguid called Hudak's idea "unintelligent public policy" that would take the province's energy system back to "the dark ages."
Time-of-use pricing makes electricity rates cheaper at night and on weekends in an effort to ease strain on the system during daytime hours.
However, experts say there is not enough difference between off-peak pricing, 5.3 cents per kWh and peak pricing of 9.9 cents per kWh. Peak prices need to be between 3-5 times greater than off peak, according to the province's leading environmental voice, Gord Miller.
A study by Toronto Hydro of its first 10,000 customers on time-of-use pricing revealed that roughly two in three saw their average bills rise.
--------------
[RW: This is the same Gord Miller that had this article in the Toronto Star today:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/864502--ontario-on-front-line-of-climate-change
It is factually incorrect in his ascertion that Ontario has seen a greater rise in temps. See my blog at http://cdnsurfacetemps.blogspot.com/ for an in depth analysis of temperatures in Canada since the 1900's. Summers are cooling, while winters are less cold. And that is supposed to be bad? In the mid 1920's they had much hotter summers and far colder winters than we have today. ]
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
McGuinty's admission a shocker
http://www.ottawasun.com/comment/editorial/2010/09/18/15399091.html
Last Updated: September 19, 2010 2:00am
Premier Dalton McGuinty, having launched Ontario on a billion-dollar smart meter experiment, now admits the electricity pricing scheme that’s supposed to make it all work, isn’t.
Terrific! Now he tells us. Couldn’t his experts have figured this out before he started installing smart meters all over the province?
Worse, McGuinty’s government has been sending out conflicting signals on whether smart meters are even supposed to save us money.
Right now, most hydro customers who have smart meters — and we’re all getting them eventually — are seeing their bills rise. And that’s just because of the meters.
It doesn’t include all the other rate increases because of such things as McGuinty’s Green Energy Act and his 8% tax hike on electricity, as of July 1, due to the HST.
McGuinty says the problem with the smart meters is the cheaper, off-peak rate of 5.3¢ per kwh, to encourage people to do things like laundry and dish-washing between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays, or at any time on weekends and statutory holidays, isn’t enough of an incentive to change old habits.
For that reason, he said, he might lower off-peak rates to provide a greater price differential, compared to the mid-peak rate of 8¢ per kwh and on-peak rate of 9.9¢ per kwh.
But under opposition questioning in the legislature, McGuinty wouldn’t rule out RAISING mid-peak and on-peak rates to increase the differential from off-peak.
Besides, the smart meter pricing system is so confusing it’s no wonder few consumers who have them are changing their habits.
While the times for off-peak rates are constant throughout the year, mid-peak and on-peak occur at different times during the winter and summer months, causing further confusion.
In “summer” — defined as May 1 to Oct. 31 — mid-peak rates apply from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, while on-peak rates apply from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
But in “winter” — defined as Nov. 1 to April 30 — the charges reverse, with on-peak rates applied from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., while mid-peak occurs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Good luck keeping track of all that.
Plus, there’s so little difference between the mid-peak and on-peak rates — 8¢ versus 9.9¢ per kwh — it’s hard to see many customers changing their electricity use patterns because of them.
Finally, despite the premier’s insistence smart meters can save people money if consumers take advantage of them, an aide to former interim energy minister Gerry Phillips told the Sun earlier this year “smart meters are more about creating awareness of energy use, rather than helping people save money.”
Great. So which is it, premier?
And why do you appear to be making up your policies on electricity pricing on the fly?
Last Updated: September 19, 2010 2:00am
Premier Dalton McGuinty, having launched Ontario on a billion-dollar smart meter experiment, now admits the electricity pricing scheme that’s supposed to make it all work, isn’t.
Terrific! Now he tells us. Couldn’t his experts have figured this out before he started installing smart meters all over the province?
Worse, McGuinty’s government has been sending out conflicting signals on whether smart meters are even supposed to save us money.
Right now, most hydro customers who have smart meters — and we’re all getting them eventually — are seeing their bills rise. And that’s just because of the meters.
It doesn’t include all the other rate increases because of such things as McGuinty’s Green Energy Act and his 8% tax hike on electricity, as of July 1, due to the HST.
McGuinty says the problem with the smart meters is the cheaper, off-peak rate of 5.3¢ per kwh, to encourage people to do things like laundry and dish-washing between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays, or at any time on weekends and statutory holidays, isn’t enough of an incentive to change old habits.
For that reason, he said, he might lower off-peak rates to provide a greater price differential, compared to the mid-peak rate of 8¢ per kwh and on-peak rate of 9.9¢ per kwh.
But under opposition questioning in the legislature, McGuinty wouldn’t rule out RAISING mid-peak and on-peak rates to increase the differential from off-peak.
Besides, the smart meter pricing system is so confusing it’s no wonder few consumers who have them are changing their habits.
While the times for off-peak rates are constant throughout the year, mid-peak and on-peak occur at different times during the winter and summer months, causing further confusion.
In “summer” — defined as May 1 to Oct. 31 — mid-peak rates apply from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, while on-peak rates apply from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
But in “winter” — defined as Nov. 1 to April 30 — the charges reverse, with on-peak rates applied from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., while mid-peak occurs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Good luck keeping track of all that.
Plus, there’s so little difference between the mid-peak and on-peak rates — 8¢ versus 9.9¢ per kwh — it’s hard to see many customers changing their electricity use patterns because of them.
Finally, despite the premier’s insistence smart meters can save people money if consumers take advantage of them, an aide to former interim energy minister Gerry Phillips told the Sun earlier this year “smart meters are more about creating awareness of energy use, rather than helping people save money.”
Great. So which is it, premier?
And why do you appear to be making up your policies on electricity pricing on the fly?
Smart meters don’t look so smart
Smart meters don’t look so smart
Waterloo Record
September 16, 2010 Editorial
It’s always easier for politicians to conceive of a good idea than deliver that idea alive and kicking into the real world. Just ask Ontario’s governing Liberals, whose so-called “smart” hydro meters look far less intelligent today than when they were first proposed many months, and $1 billion in spending, ago. In fact, you could say the whole scheme was short-circuited by the Liberals themselves.
These were the meters that were supposed to help people cut their electricity bills by shifting some of their heaviest consumption to times of day when the province’s overall demand for energy has fallen. So, as consumers saved themselves money, they would take stress off the system in the hours of peak energy demands and reduce the need for Ontario to import costly hydro from the United States. It was to be, in the preferred jargon of bureaucrats, a “win-win” situation for all. This, at least, was the theory.
Perhaps predictably, for the government that gave us the eHealth foul-up, things didn’t go as planned.
The latest reports show that consumers on smart meters largely are delaying very little of their heavy electrical use until after 9 p.m. and before 7 a.m. As a result, very little energy is being conserved.
One reason for this failure is that even the people who use their smart meters and delay washing clothes or dishes until after 9 a.m. are seeing their energy bills go up, not down. This electricity cost surge is due not only to the harmonized sales tax recently introduced by the Liberals but to the rising price of energy, something the Liberals also approved. The off-peak rates of 5.3 cents per kilowatt hour are actually 20 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
It’s true that using the smart meters and delaying heavy consumption to specific times of day is still cheaper than using a lot of electricity during the more expensive peak hours. The trouble is, given the overall rise in hydro costs, even the most frugal and conservation-conscious consumers don’t feel as if they’re saving money because the bills they get each month have gone through the roof. Any incentive is too small for them to see.
Moreover, when the $1 billion cost of installing all these smart meters is taken into consideration, the faltering start to the entire initiative is even more disappointing.
Nor is there a quick fix in the Liberals’ tool box. Increasing the price difference even more between the cheaper off-peak rate and the peak rate would persuade more people to change their habits and use their smart meters to take advantage of time-of-use pricing.
But lowering the off-peak rate might lead to another hike in the peak rate. That would take a nasty bite out of consumers who still don’t even have a smart meter. It could also hurt seniors who might understandably feel too tired to reschedule heavy energy using chores to late night.
Smart meters are still a good idea, even if their delivery was spoiled by other Liberal policies.
But unless Premier McGuinty can sort this one out soon, he may feel the jolt from voters in next year’s provincial election.
Waterloo Record
September 16, 2010 Editorial
It’s always easier for politicians to conceive of a good idea than deliver that idea alive and kicking into the real world. Just ask Ontario’s governing Liberals, whose so-called “smart” hydro meters look far less intelligent today than when they were first proposed many months, and $1 billion in spending, ago. In fact, you could say the whole scheme was short-circuited by the Liberals themselves.
These were the meters that were supposed to help people cut their electricity bills by shifting some of their heaviest consumption to times of day when the province’s overall demand for energy has fallen. So, as consumers saved themselves money, they would take stress off the system in the hours of peak energy demands and reduce the need for Ontario to import costly hydro from the United States. It was to be, in the preferred jargon of bureaucrats, a “win-win” situation for all. This, at least, was the theory.
Perhaps predictably, for the government that gave us the eHealth foul-up, things didn’t go as planned.
The latest reports show that consumers on smart meters largely are delaying very little of their heavy electrical use until after 9 p.m. and before 7 a.m. As a result, very little energy is being conserved.
One reason for this failure is that even the people who use their smart meters and delay washing clothes or dishes until after 9 a.m. are seeing their energy bills go up, not down. This electricity cost surge is due not only to the harmonized sales tax recently introduced by the Liberals but to the rising price of energy, something the Liberals also approved. The off-peak rates of 5.3 cents per kilowatt hour are actually 20 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
It’s true that using the smart meters and delaying heavy consumption to specific times of day is still cheaper than using a lot of electricity during the more expensive peak hours. The trouble is, given the overall rise in hydro costs, even the most frugal and conservation-conscious consumers don’t feel as if they’re saving money because the bills they get each month have gone through the roof. Any incentive is too small for them to see.
Moreover, when the $1 billion cost of installing all these smart meters is taken into consideration, the faltering start to the entire initiative is even more disappointing.
Nor is there a quick fix in the Liberals’ tool box. Increasing the price difference even more between the cheaper off-peak rate and the peak rate would persuade more people to change their habits and use their smart meters to take advantage of time-of-use pricing.
But lowering the off-peak rate might lead to another hike in the peak rate. That would take a nasty bite out of consumers who still don’t even have a smart meter. It could also hurt seniors who might understandably feel too tired to reschedule heavy energy using chores to late night.
Smart meters are still a good idea, even if their delivery was spoiled by other Liberal policies.
But unless Premier McGuinty can sort this one out soon, he may feel the jolt from voters in next year’s provincial election.
Excerpts from recent newspapers
The Ontario NDP are sending this around.
Waterloo Record, September 16
Ottawa Sun, September 19
Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, September 17
Letter to the Editor, Hamilton Spectator, September 20
"A great big light bulb seems to have turned on in the brain of Premier Dalton
McGuinty this week. Finally, he's realized what countless Ontarians already
knew: The so-called "smart" hydro meters introduced by his government look far
less intelligent today than when they were first proposed many months, and $1
billion in spending, ago. And you could even say the whole scheme was
short-circuited by the Liberals themselves."
Waterloo Record, September 16
"Premier Dalton McGuinty, having launched Ontario on a billion-dollar smart
meter experiment, now admits the electricity pricing scheme that's supposed to
make it all work, isn't. Terrific! Now he tells us. Couldn't his experts have
figured this out before he started installing smart meters all over the
province."
Ottawa Sun, September 19
"McGuinty's promise to encourage more off-peak use with even lower off-peak
prices apparently comes with a catch. Asked the next day if that meant peak
power prices would have to be even higher in order to even out the equation in
favour of the government's need for debt-reducing revenue, he refused to say."
Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, September 17
"I am exhausted from being up all day caring for three small children, and being
up most of the night doing my laundry, vacuuming and making as many meals as
possible because I have a "dumb" meter. These dumb meters and time shifting are
nothing more or less than discriminatory, punishing and time-rigged to be
difficult, exhausting and the most expensive when you need to use your hydro the
most."
Letter to the Editor, Hamilton Spectator, September 20
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bruce Power got millions to not produce electricity
Updated: Tue Sep. 21 2010 6:10:23 PM
ctvtoronto.ca
The people of Ontario paid Bruce Power nearly $60 million in 2009 to not generate electricity for the province, CTV Toronto has learned.
A deal between the nuclear generator, a private company, and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) sets out a guarantee for a certain amount of power to be purchased -- even if it's not needed.
The technical term is called surplus baseload generation. The agency agreed to pay Bruce $48.33 for each megawatt hour of electricity that was not needed.
In 2009, demand for electricity was down in Ontario, largely as a result of the recession. This meant Bruce's nuclear reactors weren't operating at full capacity.
As a result, the OPA paid Bruce power $57.5 million for about 1.2 terawatt hours of electricity that was not produced. A terawatt is a million megawatts.
Ben Chin, a vice-president of the OPA, said the arrangement is like having a fire station. They aren't needed all the time, but one must still pay to keep it open.
The OPA also said this deal keeps taxpayers off the hook for any cost over-runs. Bruce is spending billions of dollars to refurbish its nuclear reactors and may be about $3 billion over-budget.
The OPA said taxpayers actually got a bargain through the arrangement with Bruce. A Bruce Power spokesperson said the company is fulfilling its side of the deal.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss
ctvtoronto.ca
The people of Ontario paid Bruce Power nearly $60 million in 2009 to not generate electricity for the province, CTV Toronto has learned.
A deal between the nuclear generator, a private company, and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) sets out a guarantee for a certain amount of power to be purchased -- even if it's not needed.
The technical term is called surplus baseload generation. The agency agreed to pay Bruce $48.33 for each megawatt hour of electricity that was not needed.
In 2009, demand for electricity was down in Ontario, largely as a result of the recession. This meant Bruce's nuclear reactors weren't operating at full capacity.
As a result, the OPA paid Bruce power $57.5 million for about 1.2 terawatt hours of electricity that was not produced. A terawatt is a million megawatts.
Ben Chin, a vice-president of the OPA, said the arrangement is like having a fire station. They aren't needed all the time, but one must still pay to keep it open.
The OPA also said this deal keeps taxpayers off the hook for any cost over-runs. Bruce is spending billions of dollars to refurbish its nuclear reactors and may be about $3 billion over-budget.
The OPA said taxpayers actually got a bargain through the arrangement with Bruce. A Bruce Power spokesperson said the company is fulfilling its side of the deal.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss
Ontario’s Power Trip: Convenient untruths
September 21, 2010 – 3:58 pm
Parker Gallant
Ontario electricity consumers recently received fresh electricity bills showing that rates have continued their upward climb and there’s more to come. The bills, from Hydro One (H1) and Toronto Hydro (TH), also contained inserts that simultaneously try to deflect blame for the increases, point to all the wonderful things going on in the electricity sector. and explain why rates increased.
TH bragged that it had since 2005 “managed to help you reduce Toronto’s consumption” by 6,580,000 kWh hours. For consumers who don’t have calculators handy, the amount they helped Ontario consumers reduce was worth about $250,000 ($50,000 per annum or less than 8 cents per TH customer). These inserts probably cost more to print.
The TH insert warns the infrastructure is falling apart and that it is “moving quickly to address this issue.” After paying 60% of their annual net income to the City of Toronto since 2004 as dividends, ($234 Million) they tell us that the “falling apart” infrastructure needs to be addressed. Your rates are going to go up because they now have to spend money they gave to the city–on infrastructure. Great planning! TH has also applied for an increase of 18.2% to take place early next year.
H1′s insert was much more detailed and states delivery rates “for a typical residential customer” are up 8% and the delivery line of your bill is “about 40%” of its total. H1 have a chart with 6 service types that give each an idea of the increase ranging from 5.8% to 15.5% (average increase of 9.35%). H1 blames the increase on 5 factors of which the first two echo TH’s message about replacing and upgrading infrastructure. The 3rd and 4th are both related to green initiatives and the money spent on “smart grid installations” and to “connect renewable generation”. The final reason is to tell us about all the remaining costs like “capital costs” (the first four are all capital costs) and “compensation.”
H1′s insert goes on about the other increases; 8% for Regulated Price Plan customers, Time-of-Use prices (no percentage provided), the HST (13% will replace 5%) and a “Special Purpose Charge” in the “Regulatory Charges on your bill” line. H1 even advises the recipient that they will let them know about their 2011 delivery rate increase “later this fall.”
Finally, H1′s insert also tells us they paid the Province $188 Million in dividends in 2009 but what they don’t tell you is that they paid the Province $259 Million in 2008 and that they have only paid the Province $19 Million (down $116 Million) for the first 6 months of the current year. Green spending reduces their ability to both provide a return to the taxpayers and to reduce the “stranded debt”.
So, Ontario electricity consumers, brace yourselves for more super sized rate increases.
Parker Gallant is a retired Canadian banker who looked at his Ontario electricity bill and didn’t like what he saw.
Read more: http://opinion.financialpost.com/2010/09/21/ontarios-power-trip-convenient-untruths/#ixzz10E5XGO51
Parker Gallant
Ontario electricity consumers recently received fresh electricity bills showing that rates have continued their upward climb and there’s more to come. The bills, from Hydro One (H1) and Toronto Hydro (TH), also contained inserts that simultaneously try to deflect blame for the increases, point to all the wonderful things going on in the electricity sector. and explain why rates increased.
TH bragged that it had since 2005 “managed to help you reduce Toronto’s consumption” by 6,580,000 kWh hours. For consumers who don’t have calculators handy, the amount they helped Ontario consumers reduce was worth about $250,000 ($50,000 per annum or less than 8 cents per TH customer). These inserts probably cost more to print.
The TH insert warns the infrastructure is falling apart and that it is “moving quickly to address this issue.” After paying 60% of their annual net income to the City of Toronto since 2004 as dividends, ($234 Million) they tell us that the “falling apart” infrastructure needs to be addressed. Your rates are going to go up because they now have to spend money they gave to the city–on infrastructure. Great planning! TH has also applied for an increase of 18.2% to take place early next year.
H1′s insert was much more detailed and states delivery rates “for a typical residential customer” are up 8% and the delivery line of your bill is “about 40%” of its total. H1 have a chart with 6 service types that give each an idea of the increase ranging from 5.8% to 15.5% (average increase of 9.35%). H1 blames the increase on 5 factors of which the first two echo TH’s message about replacing and upgrading infrastructure. The 3rd and 4th are both related to green initiatives and the money spent on “smart grid installations” and to “connect renewable generation”. The final reason is to tell us about all the remaining costs like “capital costs” (the first four are all capital costs) and “compensation.”
H1′s insert goes on about the other increases; 8% for Regulated Price Plan customers, Time-of-Use prices (no percentage provided), the HST (13% will replace 5%) and a “Special Purpose Charge” in the “Regulatory Charges on your bill” line. H1 even advises the recipient that they will let them know about their 2011 delivery rate increase “later this fall.”
Finally, H1′s insert also tells us they paid the Province $188 Million in dividends in 2009 but what they don’t tell you is that they paid the Province $259 Million in 2008 and that they have only paid the Province $19 Million (down $116 Million) for the first 6 months of the current year. Green spending reduces their ability to both provide a return to the taxpayers and to reduce the “stranded debt”.
So, Ontario electricity consumers, brace yourselves for more super sized rate increases.
Parker Gallant is a retired Canadian banker who looked at his Ontario electricity bill and didn’t like what he saw.
Read more: http://opinion.financialpost.com/2010/09/21/ontarios-power-trip-convenient-untruths/#ixzz10E5XGO51
New data proves smart meter scheme costing everyone more
Queen’s Park – Andrea Horwath, Leader of Ontario’s New Democrats, says data from Toronto Hydro confirms that Dalton McGuinty’s so-called smart meters have raised rates for 80 per cent of consumers and aren’t producing any conservation gains for Ontario.
“Dalton McGuinty’s so-called smart meters make eHealth look like a bargain. For a billion and half dollars we have a scheme that leaves 80 per cent of people paying higher rates without shifting usage patterns,” said Horwath. “There’s nothing smart about Dalton McGuinty’s smart meters when it’s hiking people’s hydro bills.”
A Toronto Hydro study looked at ten thousand households in Toronto that have been billed using so-called smart meters since 2009. The study confirmed that after a year of operation:
• On average 80 percent of households have been paying higher rates than before smart meters were installed and there has been little if any shift in household energy consumption.
• In one billing period – from June to September, 2009 – ninety-two per cent of households paid more.
• On average, households seeing an increase were paying anywhere from 2 to 7 per cent more.
• These increases are separate from the added cost to households for the cost of the smart meter itself. Across Ontario, consumers will be paying $1.25 – $4.45 a month for decades to recover these costs.
“The McGuinty Liberals have spent billions on a scheme that leaves people paying more and leaves Ontario falling behind in our conservation goals,” said Horwath.
http://ontariondp.com/en/new-data-proves-smart-meter-scheme-costing-everyone-more/
“Dalton McGuinty’s so-called smart meters make eHealth look like a bargain. For a billion and half dollars we have a scheme that leaves 80 per cent of people paying higher rates without shifting usage patterns,” said Horwath. “There’s nothing smart about Dalton McGuinty’s smart meters when it’s hiking people’s hydro bills.”
A Toronto Hydro study looked at ten thousand households in Toronto that have been billed using so-called smart meters since 2009. The study confirmed that after a year of operation:
• On average 80 percent of households have been paying higher rates than before smart meters were installed and there has been little if any shift in household energy consumption.
• In one billing period – from June to September, 2009 – ninety-two per cent of households paid more.
• On average, households seeing an increase were paying anywhere from 2 to 7 per cent more.
• These increases are separate from the added cost to households for the cost of the smart meter itself. Across Ontario, consumers will be paying $1.25 – $4.45 a month for decades to recover these costs.
“The McGuinty Liberals have spent billions on a scheme that leaves people paying more and leaves Ontario falling behind in our conservation goals,” said Horwath.
http://ontariondp.com/en/new-data-proves-smart-meter-scheme-costing-everyone-more/
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