Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) reveal a dramatic increase to the cost of electricity to the North Bay Regional Health Centre since 2012.

The documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that in the last five years, bills for the health centre’s main campus rose from $2 million to $2.6 million. That’s a 19 per cent increase, even though consumption during the same period dropped by 8.3 per cent.

“How is the North Bay Regional Health Centre expected to afford electricity when they reduce their consumption and their bills still climb by nearly 20 per cent? 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 the North Bay Regional Health Centre,” continued Van Geyn. “Instead of paying more than $577,000 for higher electricity bills, the North Bay Regional Health Centre could have paid for eighty additional knee replacements this year. That’s something that Ontario families really need, rather than wasting money on this government’s hydro rip-off.”

The documents detailing North Bay Regional Health Centre’s electricity bills can be found HERE.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is currently running a campaign opposing the Green Energy Act and cap-and-trade at www.StopHighEnergyBills.ca.