Ontario electricity policy

Ontario electricity policy refers to plans, legislation, incentives, guidelines, and policy processes put in place by the Government of the Province of Ontario, Canada, to address issues of electricity production, distribution, and consumption. Policymaking in the electricity sector involves economic, social, and environmental considerations. Ontario's electricity supply outlook is projected to deteriorate in the near future due to increasing demand, aging electricity supply infrastructure, and political commitments, particularly the phase-out of coal-fired generation. Policymakers are presented with a range of policy choices in addressing the situation, both in terms of overall system design and structure, and specific electricity generating technologies.

Ontario finds itself faced with choices that define energy policy debates throughout the western world: the role of markets vs. centralized planning and what Amory Lovins has termed "hard" versus "soft energy paths"; i.e. continued reliance on large, centralized generation, particularly nuclear and coal, or moving towards decentralized technologies, including energy efficiency and low impact renewables. As such, how Ontario electricity policy evolves in the near future will be of relevance to other jurisdictions facing similar options or challenges.

In 1925, Ontario's public electricity utility, established in 1906, the Ontario Hydro Electric Commission (HEC) (later Ontario Hydro) constructed what was then the world's largest hydroelectric plant, Queenston-Chippawa (now Beck 1). From this early beginning until the postwar economic boom of the 1950s, Ontario Hydro was able to meet growing demand for electricity by expanding its network of hydraulic generating facilities. Planning for Ontario's electricity system was relatively simple for two reasons: 1) electricity was coming almost entirely from hydroelectric power; and 2) the electricity system consisted of several smaller systems, making management considerably easier.

Challenges to the system began to emerge in the 1950s: the accessible waterpower sites were exploited; and the province's electricity distribution system was limited in capacity. To address these problems, the HEC began constructing new coal-fired electricity generation plants near major sources of electricity demand and launched plans to build nuclear power plants across the province of Ontario. Between the early 1970s and early 1990s twenty CANDU power reactors were brought into service at the Pickering (8 reactors), Bruce (8 reactors) and Darlington (4 reactors) nuclear generating facilities.

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