Energizing the Drummond Report
Ontario can reap multi-billion dollar electricity savings
Ontario’s electricity bills can be reduced from $1.7 billion - $9.1 billion per year by importing water power from Quebec and investing in energy efficiency and natural gas-fired combined heat and power plants rather than continued wasteful spending on high-cost nuclear power, according to the Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s (OCAA) new report: Energizing the Drummond Report: How Ontario can reap multi-billion dollar electricity savings.
The Government of Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan, which calls for a huge re-investment in nuclear power, is economically irrational since the province has cleaner, safer and much lower cost options to keep our lights on.
While the Drummond Report includes eleven excellent recommendations for the electricity sector, it failed to discover the biggest opportunity for savings, namely, cancelling the McGuinty Government’s arbitrary commitment to meet 50% of our future electricity needs by re-investing in very high-cost nuclear power. The savings from switching to lower cost options to keep our lights on can be used to protect health care and public education.
The Government can also reduce our electricity bills by up to $1 billion over the next three years by cancelling its subsidies for Ontario Power Generation’s money-losing Nanticoke and Lambton coal-fired power plants. We no longer need our dirty coal plants to keep our lights on since our coal-free generation capacity will be 36% greater than our peak demand this summer.
Please contact Ontario’s Minister of Finance, Dwight Duncan and ask him to protect health care and education by cutting wasteful nuclear spending.
Important Facts
- Ontario’s electricity consumption has fallen by 10% since 2005 (while our GDP has risen), yet our electricity consumption per person is still 27% higher than New York State’s – meaning there’s substantial potential to reduce our demand for electricity through conservation.*
- In 2011 imports from Quebec met only 1.8% of our electricity needs despite the fact they could provide us with 17% of our supply using existing transmission capacity between Ontario and Quebec.*
- Ontario’s incremental combined heat and power potential is between 10,000 and 15,000 megawatts (MW); our existing nuclear capacity is 11,446 MW.*
*Each of these electricity options are a fraction of the cost of new nuclear projects. See our cost comparison of Ontario’s electricity supply options here.
Thank you for your help.
Angela Bischoff
P.S. Please pass this message onto your friends. And please send your letter to the Finance Minister by clicking here now.
Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
160 John St., #300, Toronto M5V 2E5
Phone: 416 260-2080 x 1
angela@cleanairalliance.org
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The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a diverse, multi-stakeholder coalition of approximately 90 organizations including cities, health associations, environmental and public interest groups, corporations, public utilities, unions, faith communities and individuals, representing more than six million Ontarians. We are working for cleaner air through a coal phase-out and a shift to a renewable electricity future.