Statement by Alienor Rougeot, Senior Program Manager, Climate and Energy, on the passage of Bill 214, the Affordable Energy Act
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – We are troubled by the Ontario government’s passage of Bill 214, the so-called Affordable Energy Act. This law is a clear setback for open and accountable energy planning and will mean Ontarians are left in the dark about how critical decisions regarding our energy system are made.
The Act hands over energy planning to the Minister, marginalizing energy experts at the Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) and Ontario Energy Board (OEB)—whose mandate is to ensure decisions are based on evidence, not politics. Bill 214 also does away with the need for a technical report that was previously required to justify Ontario’s energy plans. Now, the Minister can simply “consult” with whoever they feel is appropriate. By concentrating this much power in the hands of one office, the province’s energy planning will happen in backrooms, likely to the benefit of government insiders. We recall the Greenbelt scandal, where deals struck in private did not lead to outcomes that were in the public’s best interest.
The government’s choice to enshrine in law a prioritization of nuclear power is also troubling. Not only does this contradict the Minister’s stated commitment to a “technology-agnostic” energy planning process, where the best and cheapest technology would win, but it also disregards the clear evidence that wind and solar are the most cost-effective sources of new electricity generation. Worse still, the law strips energy planning of its focus on addressing climate change and greenhouse gas reductions and sidelines the critical role of energy conservation.
While we appreciate a move towards integrated energy planning (the last Long-term Energy Plan was done in 2017), without transparency, expert oversight, or a commitment to tackling the climate crisis, this plan risks serving narrow interests rather than the needs of Ontarians.
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Tamara Latinovic, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
