On August 6, the Ontario Power Authority and the Independent Electricity System Operator released a joint report containing their recommendations for enhancing community engagement in regional planning and siting for electricity projects. “This is an important part of the response to a number of challenges experienced in the power sector,” said APPrO Executive Director Jake Brooks.
The report titled “Engaging Local Communities in Ontario’s Electricity Planning Continuum” fulfills a request made by Minister Bob Chiarelli in May 2013 when he asked the agencies to “work together to develop recommendations for a new integrated regional energy planning process that would focus on improving how large energy infrastructure projects are sited in Ontario.”
The report’s recommendations fall under four major headings:
• Bringing Communities to the Table
• Linking Local and Provincial Planning
• Reinforcing the Planning/Siting Continuum
• Enhancing Electricity Awareness and Improving Access to Information.
In their covering letter to Minister Chiarelli, OPA CEO Colin Anderson and IESO CEO Bruce Campbell said, “The feedback and our research reinforce a fundamental observation: for siting to be successful, it must be accompanied by robust planning. In fact they are a continuum and must be seen as integral parts of the same process.” The agencies also propose to continue consulting with other agencies including government ministries and report back further to the Minister in September.
APPrO Executive Director Jake Brooks observed that “Because we are dealing with such a highly integrated system, it appears that the level of success of community engagement processes in regional planning and siting is directly related to the robustness of the development and review process for the integrated provincial power system plan, along with the various local and regional plans.”
Notably, the report also recommended that “The Provincial Policy Statement (2005) .. should be modified to include a more explicit requirement for municipalities to consider electricity needs in relevant municipal plans.” This would make proactive consideration of how to meet energy needs a more frequent matter of consideration for local government.
The agencies found broad agreement on the value of planning leadership coming from the OPA: “A clearer link between the planning and siting processes was recommended by many participants. They also want the OPA to take an active role in communicating the electricity needs to local communities prior to any procurement and siting processes. Some past engagements were seen as being too developer-led.” Ensuring that communities are well informed is widely viewed as a critical starting point. Along with this, securing early buy-in was seen as important in all cases, and particularly so for Aboriginal communities.
Oakville Mayor Rob Burton commented that, “As you review alternative approaches for integration, consideration should be given to including a directive for energy and energy generation in the Ontario Provincial Policy Statement. It could serve as a model for defining the roles of the province, regional and local authorities and would enable municipalities to consider energy in their planning processes for energy generation as well as water, wastewater treatment and transportation.”
The OPA and the IESO issued a joint invitation to Ontarians June 19 to “join the conversation and share their views about Ontario’s regional energy planning and siting processes.” On May 6, 2013, the Minister of Energy directed the OPA and IESO to work together to develop recommendations that will ensure municipalities and communities have a greater voice in meeting local energy needs and siting large energy infrastructure, such as natural gas plants. The OPA and IESO invited over 1400 people to share their views, including Ontario chiefs, Métis leaders, mayors, planners, developers, consumer groups, chambers of commerce and boards of trade, business improvement associations, residential and ratepayer associations, and community groups.
The two organizations held in-person engagement sessions across the province to gather insight and perspectives from the public. Online engagement tools were used to seek feedback from interested groups, including a series of webinars and a new consultation website. The first webinar for the broader public took place on June 20. The report is now available on the OPA website at this location: www.onregional-planning-and-siting-dialogue.ca.
In addition, on June 12, the Minister of Energy directed the OPA to make changes to the FIT Program, including removing large projects from the program going forward and providing a new competitive procurement process that considers input from stakeholders, municipalities and Aboriginal communities to help identify appropriate locations and siting requirements for these projects. See “Effects of the Ministerial Directive,” page 26.
With respect to the LTEP review, a list of meeting dates and locations, as well as further information on the initiative, can be found at http://www.energy.gov.on.ca/en/ltep/.
Report recommendations
1. Strengthen processes for early and sustained engagement with local governments and the public
2. Provide local governments and communities with greater voice and responsibility in planning and siting
3. Support inter-ministerial coordination
Bringing communities to the table
4. Foster ongoing relationships with First Nations and Métis and recognize the Duty to Consult
5. Create regional electricity planning Advisory Committees
6. Invite participation of local representatives in the regional electricity technical planning working group
7. Develop stakeholder engagement strategies and plans with Advisory Committee input
Linking local and provincial planning
8. Integrate electricity needs into relevant municipal plans
9. Integrate relevant municipal information into regional electricity plans
10. Promote community energy planning
11. Recognize broader provincial and local interests in electricity system planning
Reinforcing the planning/siting continuum
12. Facilitate a seamless transition from planning to siting
13. Consider broader criteria in the generation procurement process, such as local priorities
14. Strengthen review processes
15. Review mechanisms for planning and procurement
Enhancing electricity awareness and improving access to information
16. Increase awareness of electricity needs and how these needs can be met
17. Increase transparency of, and access to, useable data and information
18. Implementation: The IESO and the OPA, in conjunction with the Ministry of Energy, should develop a detailed implementation strategy.