Ontario 360 recently convened a virtual roundtable discussion that brought numerous energy experts together to discuss the long-term energy process in Ontario. Tthe energy sector is critical to Ontario, contributing nearly $20B to the province’s nominal GDP in 2019 and employing nearly 52,000 Ontarians.
But external and internal challenges and complexities abound. The recession of 2008-09 fundamentally altered industrial and commercial demand while COVID-19 has produced further uncertainty. Emerging developments and issues include distributed energy resources across local systems, electrification, storage and hydrogen. Several significant structural changes to Ontario’s energy policy framework since the 1990s reforms further complicate matters.
Hoping to untangle these threads, the discussion focused on:
- The role of “integration” of the energy system and the integration of policy considerations in the province’s electricity planning process.
- The roles of politicians and government, as well as expert agencies such as the IESO and OEB.
- The need for more robust and accurate forecasting as the basis for energy procurement.
- The important role that Indigenous communities must play in the province’s energy planning.
- How the government can build trust and confidence in the energy process more generally.
Overall, four main takeaways were generated:
- Many of the ideas regarding Ontario’s energy system are in tension with one another that require trade-offs in the planning process.
- Critical principles are needed for an effective planning process.
- The planning process requires less micromanagement by government.
- There is room for an enhanced oversight role for the OEB.
