The price tag on this risky megaproject has already skyrocketed from $2.2 billion in 2019 to $4.5 billion last year, and TC Energy has now agreed to cap it at $7 billion. If the Ontario government hands the company the long-term electricity contract it is seeking, all provincial electricity ratepayers will be on the hook for underwriting the costs of this possible white elephant for years to come.
In addition, Energy Minister Todd Smith has agreed Ontario taxpayers will pick up TCE’s pre-construction expenses, despite the fact that the project was neither solicited nor subject to a public competition. In his instructions to the IESO, the minister suggested TC Energy could apply for assistance in recouping those outlays from the federal government, meaning all Canadian taxpayers could end up footing that part of the bill.