Irwin calls on province to intervene in PUC power hike

City Councillors Brady Irwin and Peter Vaudry say it's time for the Ontario Government to intervene to stop significant increases in the Sault's electricity rates.

As SooToday.com has previously reported, our power bills are expected to rise eight percent if PUC Services Inc. is unsuccessful in its bid to get us exempted from new electricity charges payable to Ontario's Independent Electricity Market Operator.

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Irwin and Vaudry are asking their fellow councillors to approve a resolution tonight asking the Provincial Government to review what they call the Sault's "unique" situation.

The two councillors point out that PUC's special arrangement with Great Lakes Power dates back to 1928.

Applying the rules of the new electricity market so strictly that they cost Sault ratepayers $3 million a year in new charges, they say, violates the spirit of Ontario's electrical restructuring legislation.

The new rules should not be used to disrupt existing, benefical arrangements between groups like the PUC and Great Lakes Power, the two councillors say.

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