Ontario hydro hike sought
The rate increase would boil down to a 3 per cent hike for most homeowners, however, because the nuclear and hydroelectric plants account for just 60 per cent of OPGÂ’s electricity output into the provincial grid.
The utility announced that it is seeking permission for the increase, its first since 2005, from the Ontario Energy Board for the period from April 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2009.
The board will convene hearings to debate the application, which Ontario Power Generation will argue is necessary to help the Crown-owned company maintain and expands its nuclear and hydroelectric power generating facilities in the coming years without going deep into debt.
Sources said the rate increase would amount to about 4 per cent on the bills for major hydro users, who have long complained OntarioÂ’s electricity prices are too high and risk making the province a less competitive home for industry.
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The nuclear power dispute driving a wedge between France and Germany
BERLIN - Near the French village of Fessenheim, facing Germany across the Rhine, a nuclear power station stands dormant. The German protesters that once demanded the site’s closure have decamped, and the last watts were produced three years ago.
But disagreements over how the plant from 1977 should be repurposed persist, speaking to a much deeper divide over nuclear power between the two countries on either side of the river’s banks.
German officials have disputed a proposal to turn it into a centre to treat metals exposed to low levels of radioactivity, Fessenheim’s mayor Claude Brender says. “They are not on board…
