WEEDC President and CEO Stephen Mackenzie says he wasn't quite doing the happy dance, but he was certainly smiling a lot after learning the province is chopping rates by an average of 25%.
Mackenzie says the high cost of electricity has cost the region investment in the past.
"I can tell you most definitely that this region has lost deals and lost investment because in some cases of very high hydro rates which skewed the total cost formula to the advantage across the river," says Mackenzie.
According to Mackenzie, lower hydro rates mean Windsor-Essex is more competitive.
"Why this is really positive is it's reducing costs here and anytime you reduce costs you elevate your own competitive position so with some of the recent developments like cap and trade we were concerned how are we going to address this," says Mackenzie.
Mackenzie plans to reach out to the greenhouse sector to see if the lower rates will allow more of them to remain in Essex County and not relocate to the states.