The Globe has an article about how regulators are reducing natural gas prices for Ontarians by around $50 per year. That's not really a surprise, natural gas prices currently are really low. But there was a statistic that I found far more interesting:
"The 30 per cent of Ontario homes that use electricity for heating, and
every other hydro consumer, will see bills rise again on Jan. 1 because
of changes to Liberal government energy programs."
That it is that high is surprising to me. If I had to guess, I would have thought it was closer to 15%. However, what it does mean, is that Ontario's rapidly rising electricity prices are causing extra hardship for an appreciable portion of the province's population that uses electricity for heat beyond standard non-heating uses. Now granted, a lot of electricity heat users are likely apartment dwellers, which requires less heat than for an entire house, but the fact remains that their heating costs have gone up considerably over five or ten years ago, in an era of stagnant wages. I would be willing to bet that the electricity using person is likely poorer too, which is incredibly regressive.
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