Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program to be Made Permanent

Supplied by the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities… April 7, 2015 – Kapuskasing, ON – The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is pleased to hear that the Ontario government will make the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate (NIER) Program permanent in the upcoming budget.

The NIER program assists Northern Ontario’s large industrial electricity consumers by providing an opportunity for recipients to receive a rebate of two cents per kilowatt hour with individual rebates up to $20 million per year per company.  The Ontario government introduced the program in 2010 and has now committed to ongoing program funding beyond March 2016 with continued support of up to $120 million per year.

“Industry feedback from the program has been extremely positive within our region. For industries that continue to face high energy costs, the NIER program helps to lower these costs while maintaining global competitiveness and helping to sustain local jobs,” says Mayor Alan Spacek of Kapuskasing and President of FONOM.

FONOM appreciates the efforts of Premier Wynne, Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Michael Gravelle and Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Bill Mauro for delivering on their commitment to providing competitive energy rates for Northern Ontario industries.

“We are confident that the permanency of the NIER program will create a positive business environment that will lead to further investment in our mills and mines,” continued Spacek.