Facing sky-high connection fees, rural Ontarians go off the grid

# · 🔥 317 · 💬 388 · 2 years ago · www.cbc.ca · dgudkov · 📷
Hydro One, which distributes electricity for most rural customers in the province, eventually reduced the cost to $25,000. Powering the transmitters used to cost a small fortune: $6,000 a month, he says. Timmermans is one of a number of rural Ontarians who, put off by high connection costs, have left the grid in favour of renewable energies. "The cost of solar and battery storage systems have both decreased by approximately 90 per cent since 2010," said Nicholas Gall of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association. "In addition to avoiding rising utility costs, going off-grid can be an appealing option for homeowners seeking to reduce their environmental footprint, and to provide greater resiliency from blackouts caused by extreme weather events, which are likely to increase as a result of climate change." The provincial regulator requires customers who buy properties not hooked up to the electricity system to pay the cost of connecting, according to a spokesperson for Hydro One. Connecting his newly built home would have cost $60,000.
Facing sky-high connection fees, rural Ontarians go off the grid



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