Better Batteries Will Change Public Policy And Impact Local Taxes – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 5, 2016
A great read in the Christian Science Monitor from last year that I failed to share about the coming revolution in batteries .. yes batteries.
At present, batteries are extremely limited in the energy they can store. In the future, it is hoped they’ll become much more efficient enabling the storage of power for longer periods of time.
Better batteries will slowly enable households and businesses to disconnect from the electric grid, which will have significant impact on public policy and finances.
In Ontario, Hydro rates continues to significantly increase to pay for past debts, infrastructure maintenance, and distribution costs among many expenses covered by hydro users.
What happens when people significantly decrease their use of electricity or completely disconnect from the grid?
How will Hydro’s debt be retired? What becomes of all the people employed in Hydro?
In Hamilton, Council is expecting $3.8-million per year from the new merged electrical utility that Horizon Utilities is part of. That’s the equivalent of a 1% tax increase.
The technological revolutions underway in our society are exciting. The key political question of our time is how do we respond?