New energy program won't bring 'ticker tape parade,' but it'll help people: minister

Ontario's energy minister says he doesn't expect a "ticker tape parade" for how the Liberals have handled the hydro file. But a new program helping low and middle-class homes with energy-efficient upgrades is still the right thing to do.

Glenn Thibeault launched the Affordability Fund in Hamilton Tuesday. The $100 million program will give residents LED lights, heat pumps and even energy-efficient appliances to offset their energy costs.

The program is available to those who don't already qualify for low-income energy conservation programs. Thibeault foresees it helping "tens of thousands" of people.

Electricity rates have shot upward under Premier Kathleen Wynne. By Wynne's own admission, they've become hard for most homes to manage.

This year, the Wynne government launched the Fair Hydro Plan, which has reduced the average Ontario household electricity bill by 25 per cent from the peak in the summer of 2016. The Affordabilty Fund is part of that.

Thibeault said he knows the program won't fix people's anger over energy rates.

"Am I expecting a ticker tape parade down the main street of Hamilton? Absolutely not," he said.

"But is this the right thing to do, in many instances, for the people of Hamilton and right across the province? Yes, it is."

Under the new program, Alectra and other utilities will install LED light bulbs, power bars, better insulation, energy-efficient refrigerators and other tools for free to people who qualify.

​Some will qualify for home energy kits, which includes light bulbs, power bars and/or faucet aerators they install themselves.

Others qualify for in-home visits, and possible energy-efficient appliances, thermostats and even heat pumps.

In a report this month, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk criticized how the program is being financed, saying the province is "improperly" accounting for the $26 billion in debt it's taking on to cut hydro bills in the short term.  

The Liberals called the controversy an "accounting dispute" with the auditor.

"There were no fast ones being pulled at all," Thibeault said this month. "We always said it's going to take longer to pay off and it's going to cost more."

Ontario PC energy critic Todd Smith called the Liberals' financing method this month "deceitful, dishonest and shady."

In May, NDP leader Andrea Horwath said Ontarians can't afford the plan, and called on the government to release all of its projections about how much the hydro plan will cost in the long run.