Ontario will start running out of power within two years without major fixes of the province's electricity supply, along with a new commitment to energy conservation, says a task force report released yesterday. And within a decade, the province faces the prospect of having only half the generating capacity it needs to ensure an adequate and reliable power supply.
So, says the electricity conservation and supply task force, coal-powered energy plants shouldn't be mothballed until replacements are found.
The report, commissioned last June amid concerns Ontario has failed to develop enough new electricity capacity, was released by Energy Minister Dwight Duncan.
"Our government will use the report as a foundation for setting a new direction and developing a responsible and sustainable policy for Ontario's electricity sector," Duncan said.
Reforms include those to create "a conservation culture" in Ontario to moderate power demand and steps to ensure diversity in power generation, affordability, stable pricing and an improved investment climate for those who generate power.
The task force report recommends the province take steps to put a lid on consumer demand by encouraging conservation and renewable energy resources. It also says the electricity transmission grid must be managed "as basic public infrastructure, facilitating new supply and competition."
There are implications in the report, if acted upon as promised, for two power plants in Western Ontario.
It may encourage Bruce Power to refurbish two more nuclear reactors at its plant near Tiverton and increase its investment, says an official.
And it likely means the coal-fired Lambton generation station south of Sarnia won't be phased out until other power sources are found.
Duncan Hawthorne, president and chief executive of Bruce Power, was one of 19 members of the task force which produced what he termed "a very good road map.
"It will be as effective as the political will to implement the recommendations," he said.
"We have an interest in growing the business," Hawthorne said, noting Bruce Power supplies 20 per cent of Ontario's electrical needs, but is limited under current rules to 25 per cent.
"From an appetite point of view, we have an appetite to do more," he said.
At Lambton, 300 unionized and 100 management workers face the loss of their jobs.
Peter Kelly, vice-president of CUPE Local 1000 Power Workers Union, said workers at the 2,000-megawatt plant may take some comfort knowing the plant won't close without others opening.
The suggestion coal-fired plants may be around for a while doesn't bother the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. It dislikes such plants, but chairperson Jack Gibbons says the agency realizes they can't be phased out without replacing the power.
