Ontario energy minister won’t order cap-and-trade costs to appear on natural gas bills

TORONTO – Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault says he won’t order the Ontario Energy Board to break out the costs of cap and trade on natural gas bills.

The Liberal government’s plan to have companies buy and sell pollution credits to reduce Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions is expected to add about $5 a month to home heating costs.

But those increases will be buried in the “delivery” line on natural gas bills, as the OEB announced earlier this year they will not be a separate line item because the regulator considers them included in other costs of doing business.

READ MORE: Ratepayers in Ontario want to see cost of cap-and-trade on natural gas bills: survey

The auditor general commissioned a survey that found that 89 per cent of natural gas ratepayers want the cap-and-trade costs clearly displayed, which has renewed calls for the OEB to reverse its decision.

The Progressive Conservatives say the government has issued many directives to the OEB in the past, and Thibeault should do so on this issue.

But Thibeault says while he has the power to ask the board to do a study, he doesn’t have the power to overturn its decision as a “quasi-judicial and arm’s-length” body.