by George Yaremchuk
Recently I’ve heard it said that Mississippi Mills will “make millions” from the Enerdu project. So I thought I’d research this claim and present the facts I’ve uncovered.
I’ve provided references so that people can verify these facts for themselves. They are only a click or a phone call away.
Municipal taxes:
Enerdu does not currently pay any municipal taxes at all – the province exempted hydro power generation stations in 2001.
Opinion: Nor will they ever in the future, unless some major laws change.
References:
Town Finance Department: 613-256-2064
Generation Profits:
All profits from selling the electricity to the province will go to Cavanagh directly – NOT the town.
As a private corporation Enerdu will pay Provincial and Federal tax money on any profits. There are very large up front project costs (stated as $6-10 Million) to implement the project. Ron Campbell of Enerdu has stated at a public meeting that the project payback period is more than 20 years.
Opinion: These taxes are a matter kept between the governments and a private corporation – so there are no facts available on taxes paid or not. However due to the large up-front capital costs, it seems likely that no provincial/federal taxes will be paid by Cavanagh for at least 20+ years.
References:
Ron Campbell, Project Coordinator, Enerdu. rcampbell@thomascavanagh.ca cell 613-293-2606
Other Revenue:
The town gets some money from the Province for having hydro power dams in its jurisdiction, under the “Ontario Power Dam Special Payments Program”. This program is unde review by the province, and they have indicated they will be cutting this payment in the next couple of years. In 2015, the town received $11,787.88 for the Enerdu power dam from the Province.
Opinion: It is highly unlikely the town will be receiving this amount or more in the future, and will likely be going down.
References:
Town Finance Department: 613-256-2064
Association of Ontario Municipalities
