Posted on: 18-12-04 00:59:55
When we got our toronto hydro bill we noticed a charge called The debt retirement
charge and when asked why we got it we were told that it was levied by the Provincial goverment to pay for the debt incurred by the former Ontario Hydro. All hydro users in Ontario have to pay this charge.
we werent even in the country when this so called debt happened. is it that we are automatically owners of the hydro..then what happens to the profits? does it come to us. does anyone have any information on this.
just wondering
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Michelle288 --
Yes, this is true.
That charge shows up on my bills also, and is a percentage of the total bill amount.
I agree it is a big rip-off and I have tried to reason with them and avoid paying that charge, but to no avail.
Apparently, this is a legal charge and was approved by the Ontario Govt.
So, grind your teeth, put a smile on your face and pay this fee 
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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."
-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"
Folks
The debt retirement charge is actually just 0.7 cents per kwh of hydro consumed. For an average family in an apartment that consumes about 500 kwh bi-monthly, the DRC works out to about $3.5 (or $1.75 per month) - an amount that is insignificant by any standards.
AFAIK, the charge is actually collected by the provincial government.
As I see it, the DRC does provide a degree of transparency to the charges being collected by Toronto Hydro. They could very well have simply increased the base hydro rate (which, incidentally, has increased at a rate that is less than the average inflation rate over the past decade)......
Quote:
Orginally posted by michelle288
we werent even in the country when this so called debt happened. is it that we are automatically owners of the hydro..then what happens to the profits? does it come to us. does anyone have any information on this.
just wondering
True, you weren't in the country when the debt to improve the infrasture happened - but then who is gaining more from it, the guys who improved the infrastructure, or you and I who came to this country because we found that the insfrasture here is better than back home and so standard of living higher?
Think of it from that point of view and you will accept the fact and infact be thankful to the people who had the vision and desire to improve the country's living standards.
As a comparison, you can think of the situation when 15 years ago or so, in India, if anyone wanted to have his house, or car, had to first save the money and then buy it full cash down. In today's situation, your parents can buy a house before you are born, incur the mortgage debt, and when you arrive into this world, you already have a house you can call your own nd later simply keep repaying the debt your parents incurred - instead of renting and being dependent on the landlord's mercy! Do I sound logical, though crude may be?
Chandresh
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Chandresh
Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!
thanks everyone for the perspective. it made me understand the situation in a more positive way
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