Premier Wynne’s hydro rates costing TTC riders millions: NDP

Queen’s Park – During question period Wednesday, Cheri DiNovo, NDP urban transit critic, demanded answers from Premier Kathleen Wynne about an $8 million spike in TTC’s electricity bill last year – which is driving up transit costs for TTC riders.

“Skyrocketing hydro costs have made it more expensive to take the TTC,” said DiNovo, MPP for Parkdale-High Park. “The premier said she wants to fix this ‘mistake,’ but the TTC will not see the reductions Wynne is claiming in her self-serving ads, paid for with public dollars.

“Why did the premier exclude the TTC from her so-called hydro plan?”

Figures obtained by the NDP revealed that last year, the TTC’s hydro bill was up 13 per cent from the previous year, even though it used about the same amount of electricity. The additional cost to transit riders and municipal taxpayers was more than $8 million. The TTC’s electricity rates have risen by over 40 per cent since Kathleen Wynne became premier.

“The premier’s hydro plan will make bankers rich, but it won’t do anything to rein in the cost of privatized hydro, which is making the TTC more expensive for Toronto riders,” DiNovo said.  “The premier’s borrowing approach won’t lower the TTC’s hydro bills.

“Why is the premier spending public dollars to promote a hydro scheme that makes bankers rich while allowing the TTC’s hydro rates to keep rising out of control, driving up fares for Toronto transit riders?”

Andrea Horwath and the NDP have released a comprehensive hydro plan that will cut hydro bills for all customers by as much as 30 per cent. It will eliminate time-of-use pricing and take other immediate steps to lower bills; and will also reverse the selloff of Hydro One, and fix the underlying causes of sky-high hydro bills, including the TTC’s.

Audio:  https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64809496/Q5_Dinovo_03-29-17.mp3

Video:  https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64809496/Q5_Dinovo_03-29-17.mp4