The last party at the helm declared themselves free marketeers and set up a pool pricing system for electricity. Pool prices rose quickly (to about 8 cents/kWh), whereupon the government promptly slapped a cap on rates at a level so low that consumption was being actively subsidized - and this after only a four months trial period for floating prices (when it had been obvious prices would rise as supply was tight).

The present administration raised the rate cap (because the subsidy was costing the province a fortune) and introduced a tiered payment system. They declared that the bad old days of Ontario Hydro (which had accumulated some $40 billion in debt) were over, then promptly set up an even more centralized bureaucracy. If its Standard Offer Contract is anything to go by, it seems to be determined to micromanage everything in such as way as to impose completely unnecessary cost burdens on those trying to introduce alternative generation, particularly at small-scale. The metering program also imposes unnecessary costs, largely due to the political requirement for two-way communcation and critical call capability.