Tom Adams

June 2, 2003

Howard Hampton and the NDP’s Practical Solutions for Affordable, Reliable Hydro:

• Keep our hydro in public hands. Immediately end hydro privatization and deregulation.

Energy Probe’s commentary: Historically, public ownership has not resulted in public control. The Ontario public has much greater control over Ontario’s publicly regulated and privately owned natural gas distribution utilities.

• Create Efficiency Ontario to take the lead on money-saving, environmentally friendly, energy efficiency measures so that people can save money through using less hydro, less gas and less heating oil.

Energy Probe’s commentary: Energy Probe supports this concept.

• Guarantee by law that by the year 2010 at least 10 per cent and by the year 2020 at least 20 per cent of our electricity would be produced from renewable, environmentally friendly sources.

Energy Probe’s commentary: Approximately 25% of Ontario’s power supply is currently provided by hydro-electric supplies. Energy Probe estimates that the cost of new renewable power exceeds the cost of new low emission gas-fired cogenerated power by about 25% to 50%.

• Ensure public accountability in our public power system through a new Public Utilities Commission.

Energy Probe’s commentary: The stated purpose of this regulatory body would be to determine an appropriate price for power. In the absence of market forces, determining price through regulation is superior to the system that prevailed under the previous Ontario Hydro of self-regulation by Ontario Hydro or the system initiated by the NDP in 1994 of politically-determined prices.

• Place a moratorium on new nuclear power stations, clean our air by closing or converting Ontario’s coal-fired generating stations by 2007 and invest in clean and renewable energy generation to ensure reliable electricity at cost for Ontario consumers.

Energy Probe’s commentary: Energy Probe supports a moratorium on new nuclear power stations but notes that in a market environment, cut off from subsidies, new nuclear power would be impossible. Energy Probe supports the objective of closing all coal-fired generation but the other elements of the NDP plan do not provide a credible program for replacing the over 9,000 MW of coal capacity in Ontario. Note that Ontario’s coal plants are very important for power system reliability because they are dispatchable, meaning that they can be turned on at will and are particularly important in meeting power needs during summer and winter peaks in demand.

(June 2003)