A new energy fee which begins appearing on residential bills this summer, is drawing a lot of attention at Queen's Park.

The government hopes to collect $53 million from the fee — money that will be used to cover some of the cost of new green energy initiatives — but the opposition says it is nothing more than a tax grab.

The existence of the fee first surfaced, briefly, on a government website over the weekend.

On Monday, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak expressed frustration over getting information from the Liberals.

"We haven't had one single answer to five straight and direct questions to the energy minister. We got the same old talking points five times in a row," Hudak told the legislature.

"You didn't tell us why you took it off the website, you didn't tell us if it'll be an annual tax grab, and you didn't tell us if you're going to the gas companies next," he said.

Energy Minister Brad Duguid would only say the fee will amount to $4 per year for each Ontario household.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says it may be a small increase but it amounts to "death by a thousand cuts" for consumers already struggling under the recession.

Duguid says the levy is a small price to pay for clean energy, and much cheaper than alternatives such as building new nuclear plants.