Provincial Liberals Attack Lambton Generating Station

TORONTO, ONTARIO - "The Liberal government's recent announcement to replace Lambton Generating Station with privately owned gas fired generation stations is a clear indication that money is no object when it comes to keeping this government's coal shut down policy," said Don MacKinnon, President of the Power Workers' Union, the largest electricity union in Ontario.

"By announcing that about $1 billion in investment from the private sector will be needed to replace Lambton's generation, the Minister of Energy has admitted that this is what the Lambton Generation Station is worth. Ontarians will have to pay this price again."

The Lambton facility, which burns coal to produce electricity, is one of the cleanest coal plants in North America, thanks to a wise investment in air quality control equipment in the 1990s. The provincial government recently set the price of electricity from Lambton at half of the price of gas fired generation.

"Shutting Lambton down means that the government will be throwing away the investment already made only to purchase the station's generation capability from the private sector at twice the price," MacKinnon said. "This is the wrong way to meet Ontario's electricity needs."

MacKinnon said, "There is no need for this kind of waste. We support the installation of cleaner coal technology at coal stations to meet air quality issues and the return to service of nuclear units, a plan that would ensure better prices and cleaner air."

"If we brought back all of the laid-up nuclear units, we could add some 20 billion kilowatt hours of greenhouse gas-free power each year, enough for over 1 million households. Retaining coal, but reducing its proportional contribution to the provincial power grid, will reduce greenhouse emissions by over 20 megatonnes, without a single plant closure, and without a single layoff."