Ontario Needs Sound Energy Planning

Boosting renewable energy to create economic growth and establish a culture of conservation are centerpieces of Ontario’s long-term energy plan. While both options have a role to play, their benefits have been oversold to the detriment of consumers and Ontario’s proven energy advantages. Billions of dollars have been spent on: ratepayer subsidized long-term contracts for wind and solar developments that deliver electricity less than 30 percent of the time; new price volatile, greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting, import dependent natural gas plants to back up this intermittent power; and, smart meters and time-of-use pricing to shift electricity usage to off-peak periods. Now Ontario’s electricity prices are on the way to being among the highest in North America. Unfortunately, consumers still face billions of dollars in hidden costs for numerous ill-conceived plans like the compensation being paid for two cancelled, and then relocated, gas plants and the taxpayerfunded “Clean Energy Benefit”. According to the province’s Environment Commissioner, even with the closure of Ontario’s coal stations, the switch to natural gas generation compromises Ontario’s ability to meet its GHG targets. It also increases Ontario’s dependency on imported natural gas, including environmentally questionable shale gas, which means higher GHG emissions. Experience indicates that consumers have to work very hard at changing their patterns of electricity usage for modest results. To make matters worse, there is no transparent methodology or reporting procedures in place to effectively validate conservation investments. Yet some conservation advocates want higher peak prices, three to five times the current differential to incent consumers to conserve more. Results so far suggest these are not the best ways for Ontario to sustain and create jobs or enhance its global competitiveness. Ontario needs a sensible energy strategy that can deliver economic growth, sustainable environmental benefits, and energy security. The focus should be on leveraging Ontario’s energy advantages — an established and successful nuclear industry, vast biomass resources and valuable provincially owned generation and transmission assets. On a positive note, the province’s hydroelectric generation is being renewed and expanded. Ontario’s plan also calls for the refurbishment of the province’s GHG emission-free nuclear fleet and construction of two new nuclear reactors at Darlington.The latter investments are particularly important since nuclear energy provides about half of Ontario’s electricity and 3,000 megawatts of that will disappear in 2020 when the Pickering Nuclear Station goes off line. Historically, Ontario’s hydroelectric and nuclear generation, which together provide over 70 percent of the province’s electricity, have formed the foundation for our province’s economic prosperity. They also provide one of the lowest-carbon electricity system footprints in the world.

Ontario hosts most of Canada’s $6 bil- lion plus a year nuclear industry, its 160 supply chain companies and its 60,000 high value jobs. New nuclear investments, including building two Enhanced CANDU (EC6) reactors at Darlington, could drive an estimated 40 percent growth in Canadian nuclear industry employment over the next five years. For over 50 years, CANDU reactors have helped avoid substantial GHG emissions in Canada. Since 1972, over 2.4 billion tonnes — that is 90 million tonnes per year, the equivalent to the emissions from 18 million cars — have been avoided. Carbon-neutral biomass from Ontario’s forests and farms represents another opportunity to create more jobs and economic growth while helping to further reduce GHG emissions. Converting Ontario’s coal stations to utilize this domestically sourced renewable fuel along with natural gas would provide electricity for peak production and improve our energy security by reducing natural gas imports. Converting our existing coal stations is also much less costly than building new natural gas plants. Ontario needs sound energy planning that works for the benefit of all Ontarians — strategic planning that will produce a low-GHG, affordable, reliable and secure electricity supply mix to sustain our economy and our environment.