Antonella Artuso
Toronto Sun
June 15, 2006

Toronto: The province is flicking the switch on a $46-billion electricity plan that will see refurbished and new nuclear reactors and continued coal-fired generation.

Seven Greenpeace anti-nuke activists wasted no time yesterday chaining themselves together in Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan’s office. Officials moved in to cut the locks of the protesters last night.

Duncan announced the overhaul of four existing units at Pickering "B" station and the construction of one or two new reactors at an existing plant to be named later at a cost of $3 billion. Darlington, east of Toronto, is the likely choice.

The four coal plants, which the Dalton McGuinty government promised to close by 2009, will stay open for an unspecified period and undergo emission-control improvements.

The minister said his plan, which also calls for strong conservation measures, is the best means of ensuring a stable and affordable supply of electricity. Without action, the province will be short 10,000 megawatts by 2025, Duncan said.

He acknowledged that this vision is not without controversy, especially the construction of new nuclear power, which many environmentalists have vowed to fight to the bitter end.

Hydro hike expected

The costs of the plan, estimated at $72 billion, or $46 billion in today’s dollars, will be carried entirely by hydro ratepayers.

Energy Probe‘s Tom Adams said consumers can expect to see their rates increase by double-digit figures as the government pursues expensive gas and nuclear power instead of more affordable "clean" coal.

"Dalton McGuinty is more pro-nuclear than even George Bush," Adams said.

NDP Leader Howard Hampton said the plan will also lead to dirtier air. Duncan countered by saying that under his plan, nuclear power capacity by 2025 would be 40% of Ontario’s power supply, down from 50% today.

Adam White, president of the Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario, welcomed the "practical" response to the province’s electricity-supply problems. "(The) announcement demonstrates that the provincial government clearly understands the links between power reliability, prosperity and our quality of life," White said.