Come midnight tonight, residents on the island will be paying more for electricity. Interestingly, rate mitigation hearings begin at the Public Utilities Board on Thursday.
A businessman says the provincial government has to address the “climate of fear” surrounding rate mitigation, and the cost of paying down the Muskrat Falls project.
Bob Hallett says there is a “real disconnect” between what government is saying and what people are seeing and experiencing.
He says rate mitigation has to be addressed.
He says every business heats their premises with electricity, and if those rates double, then businesses have to pass that on to the consumer, who is already struggling to deal with the cost of their own heat.
The PUB last week approved a 6.4 per cent rate increase for NL Hydro which comes into effect tomorrow.