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Soaring power costs are bad for business: Chamber by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff 13 | Thursday, July 16, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com The Oakville Chamber of Commerce is joining the Chamber of Commerce of Ontario, and 40 other chambers and boards of trade in the province, calling on Ontario's provincial government to tackle the impact of rising electricity costs on the business community. In a report titled, Empowering Ontario: Constraining Costs and Staying Competitive in the Electricity Market, the chambers noted soaring energy prices have reached a crisis point for Ontario businesses and consumers. Their research found 81 per cent of Ontarians are concerned that rising electricity prices will impact the health of the Ontario economy. The same percentage fears rising electricity prices will impact their disposable income. These numbers rise to more than 90 per cent in northern Ontario. "Summer is heating up and so is the price of electricity," said Oakville Chamber President John Sawyer. "The price of electricity in Ontario is set to rise over the next two decades, adding to the cost of doing business in the province. If something is not done now to mitigate these increases, businesses will leave the province, jobs will be lost and our economy will suffer." The report recommends keeping the Debt Retirement Charge on residential bills until it disclosing the costs of important investments, the Oakville Chamber said the Province would be held accountable for future decisionmaking. The group argued a lack of transparency in the system has led to reduced customer engagement and confidence in the electricity market. "The Ontario Chamber Network of 60,000 businesses consistently hears that the price of electricity is undermining their members' capacity to grow, hire new workers and attract investment," said Allan O'Dette, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. "The Government of Ontario has before them a number of decisions that must be made in order to bend the trajectory of soaring electricity costs. A first step will be to increase the transparency of decision-making in the system so that there is clear accountability and confidence in the electricity market." The report also examines options, which the Oakville Chamber says the government should not take, such as importing hydroelectric power from Quebec to replace nuclear generation and cancelling feed-in tariff contracts. An analysis of all the options considered can be found at www.occ.ca. John Sawyer has been retired, spreading the burden of past government decisions across ratepayers. The Oakville Chamber also recommended the Province improve the transparency of electricity pricing and system cost drivers. By publishing average electricity rates and "...perfect match for us ...she made the journey fun ...already referred to a friend ...exceeded our expectations" "...friendly professionalism ...a true expert in her field ...expert design flare" K Design custom cabinetry 490 SPEERS ROAD, OAKVILLE K D E S I G N C A B I N E T RY.CO M 905.339.2223 DIAMOND