The Ontario government has rolled out an extensive public information campaign to help explain a range of changes that are underway in the power sector. Chief among the changes is the expected increase in the prices for electricity. The information campaign seeks to educate citizens about the government’s Long-Term Energy Plan and a number of basic facts about the makeup of the province’s energy system.
“It is very constructive for government to be proactively explaining energy costs to the public before an election campaign,” says APPrO Executive Director Jake Brooks. “One of the key problems in energy policy is that the public rarely has a good understanding of what causes energy prices to increase. Well-disseminated information of this nature can improve the quality of public debates.”
The government literature says in part that bill payments are helping to:
• Put an end to smog-producing coal plants, to help clean up the air.
• Improve transmission and distribution lines that carry power to our homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.
• Upgrade nuclear plants that produce about 50% of Ontario’s electricity supply.
• Construct hydro-electric projects like the one in Northern Ontario on the Lower Mattagami River.
• Build new, clean sources of electricity like wind turbines and solar farms, creating a new sector focused on clean technologies.
With respect to Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan, it says:
“Ontario is working to build a clean, modern and reliable electricity system for all Ontarians. Why are electricity prices changing? Ontario is building the infrastructure we need to make sure the lights stay on, now and in the future. That means upgrading old transmission lines and power plants. It also means shutting down coal plants that pollute the air we breathe and moving to cleaner sources of electricity.
“How much will I have to pay? Over the next 20 years, including taxes and other charges, electricity bills are projected to rise about 3.5 per cent per year. However, largely because of investments being made in the short term to bring on new energy supply and upgrade electricity infrastructure, electricity bills are expected to increase by about 7.9 per cent per year over the next five years.
“Why not coal? Coal plants release greenhouse gases that pollute the air we breathe. According to a 2005 study prepared for the government, the health-related damages of coal could top $3 billion a year. Moving to cleaner sources of electricity – like wind, solar and bioenergy – will help clean up the air and reduce our reliance on coal. Ontario plans to end coal-fired generation by 2014.
“How is clean energy helping? Besides the health benefits of clean energy, a new clean industry is taking shape in Ontario. This industry is supporting jobs in clean energy and high-tech manufacturing, building solar panels, wind turbines and other components for projects in Ontario. The Sarnia Solar Project, one of five large solar farms in Ontario, is the largest solar farm of its kind in the world and created 800 jobs during construction. CS Wind announced it will build a new wind tower manufacturing plant in Windsor, creating 300 new full-time jobs and up to 400 construction and indirect service jobs. Siemens Canada will build Ontario’s first-ever wind blade manufacturing plant in Tillsonburg, bringing as many as 300 permanent jobs, and up to 600 more in construction and indirect service.”