nuclear-news

Ontario’s govt about to sabotage energy saving systems, – in the interests of the nuclear lobby

Nuclear power company backs Ford government energy plan, Canada’s National Observer , By Alastair Sharp March 21st 2019 Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government said on Thursday it will reform Ontario’s electricity system in a bid to reduce costs overall and lower rates for businesses, a move critics say limits the most efficient way to save money in the power grid and threatens thousands of clean energy jobs.

The plan, announced by Energy Minister Greg Rickford, confirm details reported exclusively by National Observer on Wednesday about a series of cuts to programs that were designed to save energy in buildings. …….

Environmental groups and opposition political parties say the moves don’t make economic sense, pointing to the IESO’s estimates that it costs more than four times more to produce nuclear energy than to conserve electricity, with nuclear costs likely to double in coming years.

The IESO estimates that it costs 1.7 cents to save a kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity while Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) nuclear electricity costs 8.8 cents per kWh and is forecast to rise to 16.5 cents per kWh by 2025 to pay for the re-building of the Darlington Nuclear Station.

“I’m worried that today’s announcement might set the stage for the abandonment of energy efficiency efforts while going all-in on expensive, outdated nuclear power,” Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said in a statement.

Rickford’s plan would also threaten thousands of jobs in companies working on energy efficiency projects, according to Efficiency Canada, a lobby group that represents companies that provide energy efficiency products and services.

Corey Diamond, executive director of Efficiency Canada, said that this field of the economy has the potential to create over 14,000 jobs per year.

“Energy efficiency is the best bang for the buck for the people of Ontario,” said Diamond in a statement. “Scaling back on programs means fewer local jobs in communities across the province,” he said.

The group representing local power distributors also criticized the changes, citing IESO data showing local hydro utilities had saved over 5.8 billion kWh, enough to power more than 640,000 homes for a full year.

Local distribution companies “have made a vital contribution to delivering savings to all customers across Ontario, including families, small businesses, farmers, medium and large businesses,” said Teresa Sarkesian, president and CEO of the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA).

Ontario NDP energy and climate change critic Peter Tabuns said he agreed that the previous government’s plan was disastrous, but said that the Ford government was about to make the situation worse.

“For years, families saw their utility bills skyrocket under the Wynne Liberals and were left struggling to make ends meet each month,” Tabuns said. “Instead of making things better, and dropping the disastrous Liberal hydro borrowing scheme, the Conservatives are ripping up programs that help everyday families save money on their utility bills, so families and businesses will see their bills jump, yet again.”  https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/03/21/news/nuclear-power-company-backs-ford-government-energy-plan

March 25, 2019 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, politics