LYING THEN; LYING NOW, REVIEW OF GREEN ENERGY ACT

   The lead engineer responsible for designing and implementing a key component of the Green Energy Act – the FIT and Micro-FIT programs that saw billions of dollars in green-energy contracts awarded to solar and wind companies – tells Global News in an exclusive interview the Liberal government ignored expert advice that, if followed, could have saved Ontario electricity customers billions of dollars in unnecessary spending.
   He also says the government never provided details of public promises about how much the plan would cost Ontarians – even though he asked the ministry responsible to provide this information two months before the Green Energy Act was passed.
   In February 2009 – two months before the Green Energy Act was passed – George Smitherman, the then-energy minister said the plan would add about one per cent a year for 15 years to the cost of electricity bills in Ontario. He later repeated this message before a government committee studying the act.
   “I have no info on the basis for [the] one per cent rate impact over fifteen years,” wrote MacDougall, referring to comments made by Smitherman. “I asked the ministry for details on this a while ago and never heard back.”