Toronto: APPrO welcomed what it described as a balanced and reasonable approach in the 2017 Long Term Energy Plan (LTEP), which was released October 26.
“We’re encouraged that the government listened to our advice that the LTEP should be flexible while maximizing the economic use of existing assets,” said David Butters, President and CEO of APPrO. “Ontario ratepayers have funded considerable investment in a very capable, much cleaner and modern generation fleet. We should strive to get the best value from these assets using competitive tension where feasible to provide ongoing flexibility and to deal efficiently with the changes we can see coming,” he said.
Mr. Butters noted that the plan highlights ongoing work to ensure Ontario’s electricity market is fit for purpose as the electricity landscape changes over the coming years. “Maximizing the effectiveness of market functions as well as competition among resource options where feasible, can help to manage costs,” he said.
He noted that APPrO and its generator members are important and engaged participants in the IESO’s market renewal process that is currently underway - a process that, as the LTEP points out, promises to produce significant savings over time. APPrO supports the stated goal of market renewal, which is to address known inefficiencies in the current market and use more competitive processes when new capacity is required.
“Because our power supply is a vital element in our lives and the economy, the plan provides a good foundation for further improvements in transparency, broad public consultation, and solid evidence and independent cost-benefit analysis around crucial planning decisions,” said Mr. Butters. He noted that this has been a consistent APPrO theme to government during both the LTEP and market renewal process.
For an analytical overview of the LTEP, see the article by BLG Canada, elsewhere this issue.