NEW – ON: CPA pushes back on Hydro One’s fuel-switching ads
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In late December 2020, some CPA members alerted CPA staff of an advertising campaign sponsored by Hydro One promoting vendor rebates for customers to switch from their current home energy source - oil or propane - to electricity.
Running in Ontario, the advertisements offer vendor rebates of up to $1,000 to switch to electric heating and drive audiences to the Hydro One website which lists a number of incorrect statements about propane fuel and its suppliers. Nathalie St-Pierre, CPA President and CEO, delivered a strong rebuke of these advertisements and their content to Mark Poweska, Hydro One’s President and CEO, in a letter sent on January 13, 2021.
In her correspondence, St-Pierre stressed the propane sector’s deep objection to the advertising campaign’s spurious facts regarding the cost and environmental attributes of propane, urging an immediate retraction or revision. The letter also condemned the electricity monopoly for using public resources to denigrate private sector propane businesses.
The CPA circulated St-Pierre’s letter to the Ontario Energy Board and a number of relevant ministers including Minister of Energy Greg Rickford, Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy, and Premier Ford.
Ontario Government Relations Director, Marcelline Riddell, will follow-up with Hydro One on their plans to amend the advertisements and remove the inaccurate website content.
