Toronto: The Independent Electricity System Operator's latest outlook for Ontario's power system, published June 22, says the province has enough power to meet the expected demand for electricity over the coming summer months, as Canada and Ontario celebrate their 150th anniversaries. The latest 18-Month Outlook report covers the period from July 2017 to December 2018.
About 1,550 megawatts of new supply – 500 MW of wind, 1,000 MW of natural gas, 50 MW of hydroelectric – is expected to be connected to the province's transmission grid over the Outlook period. Wind generation connected to local distribution networks over the same period is expected to exceed 600 MW, and distribution-connected solar generation will surpass 2,200 MW, continuing the growth of distributed energy resources across Ontario.
"We expect another positive outlook for Ontario as the trend of declining peak demand continues," says Leonard Kula, IESO's Vice-President, Market and System Operations and Chief Operating Officer. "The decline in peaks is due to conservation savings, increased generation output on local distribution networks and the Industrial Conservation Initiative, which more than offsets underlying growth." Annual demand for electricity is also expected to decline slightly.
Under normal weather conditions, Ontario's highest peak for electricity demand in 2017 is forecasted to reach 22,493 MW during July. The highest peak reached in 2016 was 23,213 MW on September 7. Ontario's all-time peak for electricity demand was set on August 1, 2006, when demand reached 27,005 MW.