To Whom It May Concern, …

To Whom It May Concern,

There has been a lot of moaning and complaining about the price of electricity lately.  I think it important that decision makers hear from the other side as well.  There are a good number of Ontarians that accept that paying more for a greener more sustainable energy future is a burden we accept.  We understand that past gov't practices of shouldering the debt to tax payers in other ways is simply not fair nor sustainable.  Those practices created a huge mess and provide an unfair market for development of non-sustainable generation types.  Until we pay the true cost (cradle to grave) of electricity the economics that show renewables as the preferred and really only solution are not obvious. We need to ensure that our electricity infrastructure planning is establishing an equal playing field and is honest to tax payers and rate payers.  It is paramount that moving forward we consider the entire and full cost (triple bottom line) for all of our energy infrastructure.  There is a cost to our way of life and we are duty bound to our children and ancestors that we start paying this cost and stop deferring it.  Both the dollar cost and the cost to our environment and resources.

I urge decision makers to be strong and see past the noisy complainers and instead begin to have an honest and open dialogue on the costs and benefits of our electricity.  A large first step would be to conduct an indepth audit of sector.  The salaries of many of the employees are an embarrassment with no repeat no justification (other jurisdictions have much lower salaries and still find highly qualified people).  Cleaning house internally to reduce costs and reduced they can be should be the starting point for a new dialogue with rate payers and Ontarians.  Then I urge you to build on this starting point a foundation of honesty and open decision making that engaged and educates Ontarians regarding the true costs of our energy use and the options we have to grow and prosper.  In this digital age we have so many venues to engage and educate.  I strongly urge you to leverage these and make positive change for present and most importantly future Ontarians.  The current paradigm is a step in the right direction but we have to continue down this road for the sake of us all. Sustainability must happen as the alternative is too dire to consider.

Thank you for considering this letter.

Mark Payne

L0E 1R0

[Original Comment ID: 205112]