By sticking a red-hot knife into the performance of her province’s electricity sector, Ontario Auditor-General Bonnie Lysyk has whipped up a tsunami of outrage. But while her assertion that Ontarians have paid $37-billion more than market price for electricity over eight years certainly has shock value, it is of little probative value in understanding how Ontario’s “hybrid” electricity market works, how we got here and what needs to be done to deliver better outcomes. The report is both a service and a disservice – providing excellent examples of the shortcomings of governance and long-term planning, but an incomplete picture of the costs of electricity production in Ontario.
