CTV News

January 31, 2006

The Ontario government is warning people to start conserving energy now or face the possibility of another blackout.

"All we’re asking is conserve like hell," former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman said on Tuesday.

Ontarians are being reminded of the blackout in the summer of 2003. People were told to conserve energy then, but the message may not be sticking.

"I think we did for a while and I think people actually changed their thinking," Ontario Energy Minister Donna Cansfield said.

But some are slipping into old habits, leaving lights on and cranking up the air conditioning. Energy consumption increased by two per cent in 2005.

Cansfield said it’s time to push the conservation message again as the Ontario government and the province’s six largest utility companies launched a $4 million ad campaign, powerWISE, Tuesday. The campaign focuses on educating Ontarians about energy conservation.

Studies suggest, for example, that if just four compact fluorescent light bulbs were placed in each of Ontario’s 4.5 million homes and apartments, the province could shut down one 200-megawatt coal-fired plant.

"We need to deal with the issue," Cansfield said. "We need to deal with it now so that we do not have rolling blackouts in 2008," Cansfield said.

But Tom Adams of Energy Probe believes Ontario may not have to wait until 2008 to get a blackout.

"We could have blackouts next summer or next winter," he said. "Anytime the weather drives up electricity demand, we are at risk."

However, getting people to conserve energy won’t happen immediately, said Terry Young of the Independent Electricity System Operator.

"This is really a behavioural thing and it’s going to take some time," he said.

New power plant in Toronto

Toronto’s insatiable thirst for energy means the city may have to build a new gas-fired power plant, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Monday.

Toronto, which is unable to generate power of its own, needs 250 megawatts of new supply by 2008. The city currently relies on existing transmission lines, which run at full capacity during peak demand periods such as hot summer days.

"There’s just no way around it (building a new plant)," McGuinty said. "It’s either that, or talk about rolling blackouts."

The Portlands area, east of downtown, is being considered as a likely area for a new plant.

Mayor Miller said the city would only support a co-generation plant that would produce both electricity and steam to heat homes and businesses.

With files from CTV’s Austin Delaney.