Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is now on standby to address municipal councils deliberating proposals for new or expanded generating facilities. The availability effort comes after the provincial Minister of Energy, Todd Smith, called on the IESO to meet with local decision-makers and/or attend community information forums to explain electricity supply needs and impartially answer technical questions.
Under Ontario’s program and rules, the IESO procures new electricity supply through a competitive process, but municipal councils in the host jurisdictions must give formal approval before projects can proceed. Smith’s instructions were sent out in a November 14 letter, the same day Greater Napanee Council was to consider a proposal for a 400-megawatt (MW) expansion in generating capacity at the existing gas-fired plant in that town.
“I have heard from a number of elected municipal officials that, while our government’s approach to putting local decision-making first is welcome, more can be done to ensure municipal councils have access to the information needed to make informed decisions,” he wrote.
The IESO representatives would have to refrain from expressing opinions in favour or against any proposed projects. Alternatively, the Minister urges them to explain how procurement of new supply supports the government’s goal for electrification of transportation and industrial processes and the need for “system reliability” with projected increased electricity demand.
“As elected officials at all levels have an increasing role to play in this transition, supporting the knowledge and understanding of electricity planning and our electricity grid is a key responsibility of Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator,” Smith submitted.
Prospective IESO delegations are also told to “prioritize appearances at municipal councils that are considering projects that can produce energy on demand”. That definition would include the gas-fired generation and energy storage projects procured last year through requests for proposals (RFPs) and targeted for an in-progress procurement process, still accepting submissions until next month.
For its part, the IESO website reports: “The IESO made itself available at the Greater Napanee Council on November 14 and will continue to do so going forward.” Meanwhile, the Council deferred making a decision at that time and will resume deliberations later this month.
