After “boasting” that projected electricity bill increases will result in $120 more on electricity customers bills a year yesterday in Toronto, Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli is a guest on CFRA’s The Home Page at 1 p.m.

Morning show host Steve Madely disputed Chiarelli’s math on his CFRA show this morning, saying by his calculation, the increase in electricity bills will be at least $140…and that Ontario consumers can ill afford it.

Chiarelli acknowledged that the increases are due to Ontario’s “investment” in “green” energy.

That doesn’t make economic sense, says Ottawa Wind Concerns Chair Jane Wilson. “Wind power which is today less than 4% of Ontario’s power capacity, actually represents 20% of the utility cost,” she says. “And because Ontario has a surplus of power, we are exporting a significant part of that at a loss to the United States, while we are paying wind power developers billions. Yet consumers are being asked to pay more–this is just nuts.”

Ontario opened its new contracting process for large renewable power projects on March 10; it is not clear whether a large wind power generation project will be proposed for the rural Ottawa area. The City passed a resolution in 2013 saying it did not support a wind “farm” in North Gower, and demanded a return of local land use planning powers that were removed by Ontario’s Green Energy Act.

Call in to the radio station at 613-521-8255, and listen at 580AM in Eastern Ontario, or live online at cfra.com

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com