In December 2017, Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government prevented an NDP bill which would have immediately banned pre-pay hydrometers in Ontario. Pre-pay meters force individuals to pay for their electricity before they can use it. Hydro One included a plan to use pre-pay meters in their application for increases for the next few years. Pre-pay meters can potentially lead to disconnections of electricity in the winter if the electricity bill has not been prepaid. Disconnecting electricity in Ontario in the winter is currently illegal.“Today, we had an opportunity to do the right thing and put an end to the privatized Hydro One’s attempt to force families to feed the meter or face having their electricity cut off," said Andrea Horwath, leader of the Ontario NDP. “By rejecting this bill, Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal government have sided with the privatized Hydro One and let families down once again.”The Ontario NDP has also announced their plan to bring Hydro One back into public hands while bringing hydro bills down by about 30% for residents and businesses, and ending mandatory time of use pricing which charges people different rates depending on the time of day.“Hydro prices are out of control thanks to years of Liberal mismanagement and their sale of Hydro One, a plan that Ontarians strongly rejected,” said Tom Rakocevic, Ontario NDP Candidate for Humber River-Black Creek. “If allowed, these new pre-pay hydro meters could leave many out in the cold.”The Ontario Liberals sold Hydro One in 2015 which has resulted in a large increase in the hydro bills of Ontarians throughout the province. They had originally opposed selling off Hydro One during the previous Ontario PC government.