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Getting Zapped: Ontario electricity prices increasing faster than anywhere else
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Category Archives: Reforming Ontario’s Electrical Generation Sector
Ontario still short of power
Ontario’s power supply is improving, but the province still needs more electricity generating capacity, says the agency that oversees Ontario’s electricity system.
Even if mothballed nuclear plants return to service as expected over the coming months, the province will be short of the power needed to provide for the normal safety margins this fall, says the Independent Electricity Market Operator (IMO).
When Ontario is short of power, it must import supplies from its neighbours.
Parties' policies on power panned
Ontario is on the verge of a provincewide power blackout daily, an energy expert says. With Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals vowing to maintain a Conservative freeze on power rates, that situation doesn’t look any brighter, said Tom Adams of Energy Probe.
"It’s very gloomy," said Adams. "None of the parties offers a viable program to stabilize Ontario’s hydro.
"And we can barely keep the lights on now."
McGuinty touts spending on electricity generation
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. and Toronto: Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty says the province will have to borrow the money to build new electricity-generating plants, an ambitious proposal that could cost billions of dollars.
Mr. McGuinty said the investment would be needed to avoid a repetition of the massive power blackout of Aug. 14, and the lengthy delay in restoring the electricity system.
McGuinty on Hydro: Connect these power lines
The fact is . . .
"Mr. McGuinty has said little about Ontario’s electricity problems since the campaign began." – The National Post, September 30
So how come . . .
"Departing from past Liberal policy on electricity . . ."
– The Globe and Mail, September 30
. . . Dalton announces billions in new Hydro spending.
Even though . . .
Power will be McGuinty's real issue
Will he or won’t he? Run a deficit, that is.
Dalton McGuinty has yet to take over the machinery of the Ontario government, but already there’s a controversy about what he will do if, as expected, the province’s accounts are a mess. The Liberals have been planning for a $2-billion deficit on a $70-billion budget but we are getting nudge-nudges that it’s much worse than that.
Business cut back most on power use in blackout
Evidence suggests that the province’s biggest industries, plus Toronto’s big commercial customers, accounted for more than 70 per cent of the conservation efforts following the blackout that staggered northeastern North America last August.
Householders may have chipped in less than 25 per cent of the conservation effort.
Households account for more than 40 per cent of the province’s power use.
Hydro issues a 'delayed timer fuse'
Toronto: Weighed down by a fistful of campaign promises and a bill to taxpayers that has already reached $630 million, Ontario’s incoming Liberal government will soon have its hands full trying to manage the complex hydro portfolio that bedevilled its predecessors.
From reliability of supply and the cost of the retail price cap to the future of the market itself, there is no shortage of electricity issues facing premier-designate Dalton McGuinty.
McGuinty axes hydro price cap
Toronto: Faced with a $5.6-billion deficit left by the previous Tory government, Dalton McGuinty yesterday abandoned his election promise to maintain an electricity price freeze, hiked tobacco taxes and reiterated his pledge to cancel several Tory tax cuts.
"We’re going to do what needs to be done," the new Ontario Premier said a day after the release of an independent report that shows Ontario headed for a massive deficit this year rather than the balanced books promised in the Conservatives’ spring budget.
Electricity set to soar if premier ends rate cap
Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty’s decision to hike electricity rates to tackle a $5.6-billion deficit will send a chill through homeowners, who could face monthly bills 15% higher than what they currently pay, industry watchers say.
Still, those experts, pundits and lobby groups say simply putting a higher cap on the cost of hydro will not address significant problems with Ontario’s electricity system.
Energy Probe 