In her testimony March 21 to the Public Accounts Committee, Ontario’s Auditor General (AG) Bonnie Lysyk issued findings documenting outrageously bad behaviour by the IESO management and board of directors. Since the IESO board is no longer independent, having become simply an extension of the Ministry of Energy — albeit with much higher labour rates …
Continue reading ‘Ontario AG vs. Gov’t Electricity Conflict’ »
Here is an analysis, published in today’s edition of the National Post, of powers the Ontario government is granting itself through Bill 135 to order energy and water use disclosure.
Ontario may eventually gather the wherewithal to start redirecting the provincial power system away from parasitism towards responsible cost management. One agency is getting ahead of the curve with its sales pitch — don’t blame us.
Folks following my efforts to uncover truth behind the Ontario government’s chaotic wind schemes, including an official plan briefly explored in late 2012 to cancel six controversial wind developments to be located in vulnerable electoral ridings, might be interested in the most recent resistance reaction from Official Ontario. The bottom line from Official Ontario is …
Continue reading ‘Wind Power FOI Appeal: “Frivolous and Vexatious”’ »
I have applied to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) for a position as a small volume consumer representative on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee.
Terence Corcoran provides a useful survey of McGuinty’s legacy. In the context of that survey, he introduces my column based on some of the ideas presented in Part 5 of this series. Both columns have attracted comments from advocates for higher electricity prices.
The leader of Ontario’s minority government has resigned in a controversy over electricity. But even as he walks away, the mess he created is getting worse by the day. All major electricity projects in Ontario that can be delayed without severe penalty must be frozen immediately. Moratorium now. Public concern about the gas plant issue …
The Ontario government announced April 18 a plan to merge the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Costs borne by consumers to fund these agencies are likely to continue to rise because the work they must do is expanding. The government is saying that merger will save $25 million, but …
Continue reading ‘Commentary on the Merger of IESO and OPA’ »
According to the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator, reducing wind power output during now common surplus supply conditions will save megatonnes of CO2 emissions. Not only will cutting wind power cut emissions but consumers will save millions of dollars too. Consumers save despite Ontario wind generators getting paid for power they could have produced when consumers can’t …
This video addresses the careless train of thinking that has resulted in a situation where a large amount of Ontario’s power production is useless. During Earth Day 2011, hundreds of megawatt hours of hydro-electric production appears to have been spilled at Niagara. In 2009, OPG reports that it spilled 0.6 TWh of hydro-electric production — …
Continue reading ‘Earth Day 2011: Green Energy Good Intentions’ »