Toronto, ON: Efficiency Canada, a voice nationally for an energy-efficient economy, has criticized part of the Ontario government’s energy policy with regard to funding for efficiency programs.
Efficiency Canada’s Executive Director, Corey Diamond made the following statement in reaction to the Ontario Government’s announcement to scale back energy efficiency spending:
“Energy efficiency is the best bang for the buck for the people of Ontario. Saving a kilowatt-hour is cheaper than spending to generate one. Cuts to energy efficiency programs means reducing the lowest cost option in our electricity system.
“The Government of Ontario has decided to take energy efficiency funding out of the electricity system, and fund it through general programming. We need to think of energy efficiency programs the same way we think of power plants – they feed Ontario’s electricity system. The benefits of energy efficiency programs, however, is that they provide the lowest-cost and highest-value electricity services to home and business owners.”
A backgrounder produced by the group says “The government’s election promise appears to be based on an unfortunate perception – that conservation and demand management is a government program rather than an important electricity system resource. Conservation programs meet the same system needs as the power plants that are paid for by electricity ratepayers, thus they should be funded in the same way.
“Ratepayer funding lets conservation programs compete alongside generation options to provide the lowest-cost and highest-value electricity services.
“If conservation programs are ‘tax based’ the program budget could become politically determined and subject to cutbacks in the face of government budgetary pressures. Placing conservation programs within the volatile annual budget cycle will also make it difficult for electricity system planners to rely on energy savings in their projections and operations, tipping the balance in favour of more expensive generation choices paid for by electricity ratepayers.
“While in opposition, the Progressive Conservatives criticized previous governments for making political decisions that prioritized higher-cost energy resources over less expensive ones. If the ‘tax base’ promise leads to an arbitrary restriction of conservation budgets, the government will be doing what it previously opposed.”
Mr. Diamond continues: “Energy efficiency is a well-known job creation powerhouse – in Ontario alone, there is potential to create over 14,000 jobs each year, from electricity-savings programs. Scaling back on programs means fewer local jobs in communities across the province.”