April Lindgren
National Post
June 25, 2005

Toronto: Ontario’s electricity manager issued an emergency appeal to the public last night to reduce power consumption as high temperatures and a reduced energy supply created the prospect of rotating blackouts.

Officials said the need to reduce power consumption was particularly acute in the Toronto area, and with the weather not expected to cool in the next few days, residents are being asked to turn off non-essential lights and use energy-consuming appliances such as air conditioners and dishwashers only in off-peak hours.

Temperatures at 6 p.m. last night were 34C with humidity that made it feel like 43C. Adding to the strain on the province’s energy supply was strike action by Hydro One workers who forced six units at the giant Nanticoke coal-fired generating station out of service.

The Independent Electricity System Operator warned that further emergency-control actions – including blackouts that could come without advance notice – may be necessary if the last of two of Nanticoke’s eight units are also forced out of service.

"Any further reduction in transmission or generation availability or any increase in demand could create shortfalls of electricity," an IESO release said.

"If all sources of supply are exhausted, the IESO will take protective actions such as a system voltage reduction, or rotating cuts to supply. In these circumstances, no additional public notice may be possible."

The agency warned that the need to reduce electricity use was particularly urgent in the Greater Toronto Area "due to high loads on transmission lines in the Niagara Region and southwestern Ontario." Consumers were urged to turn off all unessential lights, to turn off air conditioners or at least set them at 26C or higher and to delay the use of major equipment until after 10 p.m.

While the hot weather drove up electricity prices, most of yesterday’s electricity woes were caused by members of the Society of Energy Professionals. They have been on strike at Hydro One, the province’s power distribution utility, since the beginning of June.

Secondary pickets set up at the gates to Nanticoke on Lake Erie forced Ontario Power Generation to shut down six of the station’s eight units by late afternoon.

"What’s happened is that we’re talking about 3,000 megawatts of power that is not available that was expected to be available," said IESO spokesman Terry Young. "You take 3,000 megawatts from the system on a hot day and it will have an impact on price."

Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said the pickets were allowing Nanticoke employees to report for work and indicated that the shutdown reactors would be brought back into service. He also said OPG is seeking an injunction to prevent a repeat performance.

Faced with a shortage of generating capacity at home and demand that soared as high as 24,000 megawatts at the end of the afternoon, Ontario was forced to import 2,800 megawatts of electricity and also run some of its most costly generating plants, including the gas-fired Lennox station.

Prices soared to nearly 44 cents a kilowatt hour by 5 p.m, far in excess of the 6.58 cents average so far in the month of June.

"One wonders what Monday is going to look like," said Tom Adams, executive director of the watchdog group Energy Probe. "The heat is supposed to continue, and the union has demonstrated an ability to escalate the problems."

Brian Robinson, a spokesman for the 1,000 engineers and other white-collar striking workers, was unapologetic.

"Everything we are doing is a strike-related activity. It’s legal. It’s what people do when they are on strike," he said.

Mr. Robinson said his members are upset by a Hydro One proposal to introduce a lower pay scale for new employees as well as efforts to increase the workweek to 39 hours from 35 with no increase in pay. The average salary for society members is about $85,000 a year.