TORONTO, ON: Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) reveal that the electricity bills for Bluewater Health in Sarnia have faced a steep increase over the last five years.

The documents show bills that are steadily increasing, growing from $2,108,679.73 in 2012 to $2,959,844.34 in 2016, an increase of more than 40 per cent.

“How is Bluewater Health expected to manage their budget when electricity bills are rising by hundreds of thousands of dollars? The more the hospital has to spend keeping their lights on, the fewer resources they have for patients,” said CTF Ontario Director, Christine Van Geyn.

Ontario has seen dramatic increases to the cost of electricity, with bills for residential consumers more than doubling in the last decade.

“Families across the province all feel the pain of rapid increases to the cost of electricity when they pay their home electricity bill. But what many people don’t think about is the cost of the Ontario government’s failed electricity policy to the institutions we all rely on, like Bluewater Health,” continued Van Geyn. “Instead of paying $851,164 for inflated electricity bills Bluewater Health could have paid to for 17 skin grafts for burn victims. That’s something that Ontario patients expect their health care system to spend money on, rather than wasting money on this government’s hydro rip-off.”

The documents detailing Bluewater Health’s electricity bills can be found HERE.