Ontario’s energy, in the long term

It’s easy to use energy, but it’s a lot harder to manage energy use in the long term. That’s why Ontario is soliciting feedback from consumers on its upcoming “Long-Term Energy Plan,” asking Ontarians to shape the way that they use their energy for the next 20 years.

Across the country, provincial and territorial governments have released documents that outline strategies designed to improve consumers’ efficiency and reduce our emissions. They all share an increased emphasis on renewable power sources, energy efficiency measures and long-term planning.

In particular, the efficiency and emissions of our energy systems have a lot to do with the mix of sources we use. For example, in 2009, Canada’s electricity production broke down into: hydro (61.7 per cent), fossil fuels (21.3 per cent), nuclear (14.7 per cent) and wind (0.3 per cent), with a small amount solar generation. An energy source has huge consequences for cost and emissions, and with energy use continuing to increase along with our concern for the environment it’s no wonder that all energy strategies are concerned with a province’s energy mix.

At the moment, Ontario is one of the remaining provinces without an overarching strategy document. Its previous plan, the Integrated Power System Plan (IPSP), was presented to the Ontario Energy Board in 2007, but was never formally approved. The province doesn’t want for energy-related initiatives — its Green Energy Act has produced a variety of programs, such as the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program — but it lacks a consolidated document that outlines the long-term energy mix. Now, the IPSP has become the Long-Term Energy Plan, and that plan is open to public input.

On the Ontario Ministry of Energy’s front page, participants can answer 10 open-ended questions about energy, like “How should increased costs to Ontarians be weighed against other goals in power system planning?” and “How do you think the electricity demands of families and businesses will change over the next 20 years in Ontario?” Together, these answers will guide the plan that will ultimately be submitted to the Ontario Energy Board for review in 2011, likely after the provincial election in October.

It’s a safe bet that the province will still continue to use nuclear power, which currently accounts for 50 per cent of their electricity needs, and that non-hydro renewables will continue to play a relatively small part in the total mix. In the long term, though, it’s hard to predict exactly how the energy mix will change, considering the province is already rolling out millions of smart meters and other next-generation energy technologies. But for now, anyway, the consumers who use energy are going to have to be the ones suggesting how to manage it.