Time to simplify the electricity system in Ontario, says Power Workers' Union President

In a recent speech to the Economic Club of Toronto, the president of Ontario's largest electricity union proposed that the time has come to "clarify who the real regulator of electricity in Ontario is and cut the red tape to simplify planning and implementation."

Referring to the long-term electricity system restructuring and planning process now underway, via the generation of an Integrated Power System Plan (IPSP), Mr. Don MacKinnon, Power Workers' Union President, acknowledged to his audience of CEOs, government officials and other decision makers that the IPSP is a necessary exercise in "risk management to help people like you and me make realistic, hopefully profitable, plans."

"But," continued Mr. MacKinnon, "there's risk in the process itself.... Yes, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) will develop the plan. But first, the Premier and the government will determine the future supply mix. And then, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) will review and approve the IPSP. There are too many players involved and it's too complicated for individual users such as you and I to easily determine how to most effectively operate within this system."

"Now, just to complicate things a bit more," said Mr. MacKinnon, "another election's coming up and - for business, especially - electricity must be made a priority agenda item. It's time to simplify the electricity system in Ontario. Simplicity leads to better accountability and better decision making."

Mr. MacKinnon went on to suggest that, "Cutting the red tape and simplifying the planning and implementation process would go a long way towards reducing the regulatory risks encountered by many players in the province's electricity game."

Mr. MacKinnon proposed too that, to better facilitate risk management in its electricity system restructuring, the provincial government "needs to make good use of its existing assets." That initiative would include such activities as: the support of biomass co-firing in existing coal-fuelled generating plants; immediate investment in engineering upgrades and proven clean-coal technologies; and an acceleration of nuclear refurbishment.

The IPSP process began in 2004, when the Ontario Legislative Assembly passed the Electricity Restructuring Act, making three critical changes in the institutional arrangements of the sector, with respect to long-term planning:

1) the OPA was given the mandate to develop an Integrated Power System Plan and to address the looming supply/demand imbalance through conservation and generation procurements;

2) the government was given the discretion to determine the future "supply mix" for the province, as a starting point for the Integrated Power System Plan, and

3) the Ontario Energy Board, or OEB, was given the authority to review and approve that IPSP.