Advertisement

Horwath pitches NDP hydro plan to Hamilton businesses

NDP leader Andrea Horwath speaks with Hamilton restaurant owner Terrilea Pitton on March 31, 2017. 900CHML

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath was in Hamilton on Friday to explain the NDP’s plan to cut hydro bills to local business owners.

One of those business owners, Terrilea Pitton, said she’s concerned about the rise in hydro prices. Pitton said last year she began to notice a $200-plus jump in hydro bills for her restaurant, Southern Smoke Barbeque House.

She’s had to make changes to the restaurant’s operations to save on costs.

“We’ve had to reduce some of the refrigeration, reduce a little bit of lighting,” she said. “As owners, [my husband and I have] taken on additional hours and unfortunately had to decrease our employees’ hours a little bit.”
Story continues below advertisement

Horwath took the opportunity to speak with Hamilton businesses to pitch her plan, which includes eliminating time-of-use pricing.

“You can’t serve lunch at two in the morning,” she told reporters. “That’s why this has been such a failure.”

Horwath says by eliminating time-of-use pricing, the NDP will bring the peak rate of over 18 cents per kilowatt hour down to 10.3 cents.

Sponsored content

AdChoices