安大略省企业主称高电价威胁到了他们的生存 [加拿大媒体]

Ontario business owners say high electricity rates are a threat to their survival

安大略省企业主称高电价威胁到了他们的生存

【日期】2016年12月19日



Berkeley North founders Matthew Webber and Diana Chetcuti Webber are facing higher than anticipated energy bills
Tor Krueger has big plans for Udder Way Artisan Cheese Co., which sells handmade goat cheese in Stoney Creek, Ont.
But crushing hydro bills are hurting the artisan cheese maker’s plans to modernize his facility so he can get federal certification and sell his cheeses across the country.

位于安大略省Stoney Creek的Udder Way Artisan Cheese公司专门售卖手工山羊奶奶酪，老板Tor Krueger本来准备大展拳脚，把机器设备升级后获取联邦认证，然后把他的奶酪卖遍全国，然而高昂的电费却拖了后腿。

“After payroll, hydro is consistently one of my top three operating expenses,” Mr. Krueger said.
Hydro One charges him upward of $2,000 a month, and “I don’t have any equipment in here that I would say is drawing a lot of power.”

Krueger先生说，电费在我的运营成本里一直排名前三，仅次于工资。每个月要交的电费高达2000加元，“我这里明明没有很费电的设备”

Other small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Ontario, such as restaurants Berkeley North of Hamilton and Fred’s Not Here of Toronto, are struggling to pay their hefty hydro bills.

安大略的其他中小企业，像汉密尔顿的Berkeley North餐馆和多伦多的Fred’s Not Here 餐馆都快要付不起高额电费了。

“That right now is the No. 1 issue for our members,” says Plamen Petkov of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), which has 42,000 members in Ontario.

加拿大独立商业联合会CFIB的Plamen Petkov 说；“对我们的会员而言，电费现在是头号烦恼”。该组织在安大略有4万2千会员。



A crescendo of consumer anger prompted the provincial government to offer an eight-per-cent rebate on hydro bills for residential households and small businesses beginning Jan. 1. The discount will cost the treasury $1-billion a year and save the average household $130 a year.

众怒促使省政府推出优惠措施，从元旦开始，当地居民和小企业主可以获得8%的电费回扣。国家财政为此每年支付十亿加元，平均每户则可以省130加元。

Premier Kathleen Wynne apologized last month for high electricity bills that have forced some residents to choose between paying for hydro, food or rent.

贵的吓人的电费甚至逼的有些人吃不起饭或租不起房，上个月Premier Kathleen Wynne 为此道歉。

The CFIB says hydro costs became a bigger issue for SMBs after mandatory smart meters were introduced six years ago, charging time-of-use prices. Unlike households, many SMBs open during regular business hours and have to pay peak rates for electricity that are more than twice as much as off-peak rates.

CFIB说，六年前强制安装智能电表实行峰谷分时电价。与民用不同，很多中小企业的正常营业时间恰好位于峰值时间，峰值电费是双倍价，自此电费开始成为中小企业的开支大项。

According to the Ontario Energy Board, on-peak rates have climbed 81 per cent to 18 cents per kilowatt-hour since November, 2010, when the smart meter program began.

根据安大略能源局数据，自2010年11月安装智能电表以来，峰值电费已经涨价81%，现在是18加分每千瓦时。

Those rates also include the global adjustment for the province’s energy conservation programs, which covers the difference between the market price of electricity and the guaranteed contract prices paid to electricity generators.

费用考虑到了安大略省节能计划的全球调整，涵盖了市场电价和发电商承包电价之间的差额。

In a 2015 report, Ontario’s auditor general said the global adjustment cost consumers $37-billion from 2006 to 2014, and will cost another $133-billion from 2015 to 2032.

安大略省总审计在2015年的一份报告中说，2006-2014年消费者为全球调整支付了370亿加元，2015-2032还将预计支付1330亿加元。

The audit also concluded consumers will have to pay $9.2-billion more for renewable energy projects over the 20-year contract terms under the government’s guaranteed-price renewable program for wind, solar and biomass than under the previous program.

该审计还指出，由于政府承诺20年内对可再生能源发电（风能，太阳能，生物能）实行价格保护，民众还将为可再生能源计划多支付92亿加元。

Other factors behind high hydro bills include the debt retirement charge for the remaining debt of the former Ontario Hydro, as well as the delivery charge for distribution and transmission of electricity.

高电价的原因还有清偿前安大略水电公司的剩余债务，以及分配和传输电力的交付费用

The delivery fee alone is nearly $720 a month for Udder Way Artisan Cheese, and $990 a month for Fred’s Not Here steakhouse, representing one-third of the companies’ hydro bills.

。像Udder Way Artisan Cheese的账单上电力传输费用就有将近720加元每月，而Fred’s Not Here 牛排店的账单上，电力传输费990加元美元，将近月度电费的三分之一。



Owners have tried all sorts of ways to conserve energy – and have had to make tough business decisions.

业主们为了省电想尽办法，有时候不得不壮士断腕。

Matt Webber, who opened Berkeley North in Hamilton on Sept. 26, had budgeted $500 a month in his business plan for hydro. But his utility bill is more than twice as high even though he built his new restaurant with energy-efficient features such as induction cooking and LED lighting.

Berkeley North的老板Matt Webber9月26日新店在汉密尔顿开张时给出的电费预算是500加元每月，然而最终现实是残酷的，实际电费两倍都不止，哪怕他给新店配备了各种省电设施比如电磁炉和LED照明。

“I’m not using anything that’s old and I’m still dealing with prices like this,” Mr. Webber said. “And at the same time I’m not open all day long.”

“我用的都是新东西，而且我也没全天营业，然而费用降不下来，”

Mr. Webber has had to cut server shifts and adjust Berkeley North’s menu prices to make up for the extra $500 a month he must pay for hydro.

Webber先生只好削减服务生轮班次数，调整菜单价格来补电费预算的缺。

Fred’s Not Here owner Fred Luk switched to energy-efficient lighting at his downtown Toronto restaurant. In business since 1988, he’s taken other measures such as cutting back on refrigeration and turning off baseboard heaters when certain areas aren’t being used. He still gets a monthly hydro bill ranging from $3,000 to $5,000.

Fred’s Not Here的老板LUK把多伦多市中心的店里换上了节能照明。从1988年做生意开始，他采取过各种方法来降低成本，比如减少制冷制热，不需要时就及时关闭壁式暖气。但他的电费账单数字一直在3千加元到5千加元之间。



Mr. Luk says by his own calculation his Toronto Hydro bill has increased more than 14 per cent a year since 2008. He compared prices for hydro in Quebec, where the electricity rate alone would be more than 50 per cent cheaper, which would reduce his annual costs by at least $13,000.

Luk说根据他自己的计算，从2008年开始，每年电费上涨超过14%。他把多伦多和魁北克做比较，魁北克电费一项就便宜一半，每年可以节约成本至少一万三加元。

“We’re the ones getting socked with this high rate and a lot of us cannot survive,” said Mr. Luk, who hasn’t increased menu prices over concerns customers will choose to eat elsewhere.

“我们被高电价逼的无从生存 ” LUK担心涨价会赶跑客户，所以没上调菜单价格。

Ontario Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault was not available for comment.

安大略能源部长Glenn Thibeault没有对此发表评论

Ontario NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns says he doesn’t think the 8-per-cent rebate will make a dent since electricity prices are forecast to rise over the next few years. “I could say without hesitation that the decrease will be eaten up by the increases in the next four years,” he said.

安大略新能源评论家Peter Tabuns认为8%的回扣对现状不会有什么改善，毕竟未来几年电费必然上涨。“我可以肯定的告诉你，四年内涨幅就会抵消折扣”

The CFIB has urged the energy minister to eliminate the time-of-use rates for small businesses and replace that with a lower rate for the first 3,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

CFIB敦促能源部对小企业取消分时收费，并对前3千千瓦时采取低收费。