TORONTO – The Ontario Power Authority says the cost of cancelling the Oakville gas plant was up to $310 million, many times the $40-million figure the Liberal government has been using.
Colin Andersen, CEO of the energy planning agency, says the OPA commissioned outside experts who estimated the cost of cancelling the Oakville plant at $241 million.
However, Andersen told a legislative committee the OPA itself now puts the cost of the Oakville project at $310 million, and explained the difference by saying many future costs are hard to estimate.
The Liberals have repeatedly said Oakville cost $40 million, which Andersen said is accurate to describe only the so-called “sunk costs” that cannot be recovered.
Premier Kathleen Wynne will testify later Tuesday before the justice committee hearings into her government’s decisions to cancel gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville.
It’s rare for a sitting premier to agree to appear before a committee, but Wynne says she wants to be open and transparent.
