Dufferin County, Ontario, December 14, 2016: Today, the Dufferin Board of Trade in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) is calling on the provincial government to take bold steps to address the affordability challenge of energy pricing in Dufferin County. In its submission on the Long Term Energy Plan (LTEP), the organization is calling on government to ensure that future policies regarding energy pricing are affordable, transparent and flexible. One of the submission’s top recommendations includes a call for the adoption of a capacity market system.
Under the new Climate Change Action Plan, businesses are already facing additional costs. Since the 2013 LTEP, industrial rates in the province have increased by 16 percent, while the rate for households and small businesses have climbed by 25 percent. The OCC and its members have consistently reported that the price of electricity is undermining business’ capacity to grow, hire new workers, and ultimately remain competitive.
Diana Morris, General Manager of the Dufferin Board of Trade remarked, “The success and growth of business in Dufferin is undeniably linked to future energy policy in Ontario; it is imperative that the concerns of businesses are respected and that energy policies support economic development and growth.”
Ontario’s energy system would benefit from the implementation of a capacity market. Under this structure there would be significant cost-savings for Ontario’s energy consumers through procuring shorter term supply on a cost efficient basis. For a capacity market to be successful in Ontario, the system would feature an auction style process where resources, such as generation facilities, imported resources, electricity storage and demand-side resources, are compensated for the potential energy they could produce.
“As the provincial government seeks to find solutions to the province’s energy challenges, Ontario must strive to balance objectives regarding climate change, renewable resources and maintaining a diverse supply mix without forfeiting the competitiveness and transparency of the capacity market system,” said Allan O’Dette, President and CEO of the OCC. “This will result in increased accountability and confidence in the energy market for Ontario businesses.”
While the Ontario government is to be commended for some of the results it has achieved on the energy file (such as being a world leader in renewable energy resources) the status quo is presently unsustainable for ratepayers.
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Media Contact:
Diana Morris:
Dufferin Board of Trade
T: 519-941-0490 ext. 202