EDITORIAL PAGE — Power for all

Among the “hot” issues of the day is electricity. What will be the source of future production? Will it be affordable? What about any harmful effects to the environment? Perhaps the only question not being asked is whether or not there is enough of the commodity.

Long a pillar of Ontario’s economic growth, provincial utility Ontario Hydro has come in for its fair share of criticism of late. Its rate increases are said to be out of control and others find its current long-range planning process bewildering. Opting out and building their own power plant is an alternative seriously being considered by some of the larger corporations. In the Timmins, Ont., area, Falconbridge Ltd. says it is trying to negotiate financing for a $170-million power plant for its Kidd Creek mining complex. Facilities requiring a tremendous amount of power at the zinc-copper-silver mining operation include a concentrator, copper smelter, copper refinery, electrolytic zinc reduction plant, a pair of sulphuric acid plants and an indium plant.

The reason for the shift in thinking to self-sufficiency? An annual Kidd Creek hydro bill which has grown to about $60 million annually. Falconbridge obviously doesn’t like what it sees regarding the rising electricity costs. Mining companies in Ontario and elsewhere in the country need a reliable supply of competitively priced electricity to run their operations. For those sections of mineral production where processing is continuous, a steady, uninterrupted power supply is required.

Planning and developing a mine can take years. While some high-grade orebodies can be mined in a fairly short period, others have operating lives extending 10, 50 and even 100 years and more. Knowing that power will be available and affordable allows for better future planning, by both employers and workers.

Ontario Hydro raised its rates at the beginning of this year for its 3.7 million customers by an average 7.9%. Reports have Hydro projecting increases of 5% in each of 1994 and 1995 above the going inflation rate. The period 1989-92 has been one of significant price increases. Hydro places the blame on problems associated with its new Darlington nuclear-generating station and its nuclear program in general.

The Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario says the province’s large industrial users will be paying increases as high as 9% this year. The average household or business, the organization says, will pay 428% more for electricity in 1993 than in 1975 (more than double the rate of inflation during the same period).

In a brief prepared by the Ontario Mining Association concerning Hydro’s long-term planning, the suggestion is made that Hydro’s mandate of providing power at cost to customers be revised to read “provide power at competitive cost.” Energy options available to meet that criterion include the nuclear alternative. If nuclear-generated electricity can be produced at a lower cost and with much less damage to the environment, its development should be encouraged.

Ontario’s mine operators and other provincial power users have been active in trying to reduce costs by conserving energy. We congratulate them for their efforts but wonder, in light of the recent rate increases, if their half step forward is really a full step backward.