Juggling Act by Ontario's Energy Minister

The new Ontario Minister of Energy, Bob Chiarelli appointed by Kathleen Wynne, the new Premier of the new Liberal Party of Ontario on February 11, 2013 has his hands full! A quick count of the issues he is dealing with indicate he is juggling upwards of 6 or 7 significant electricity sector events.

The first is obviously the gas plant moves but at least that one is on the back burner until the Justice Committee issue their findings. Those findings should entail, at a minimum, new legislation that will, at the very least, prevent political interference after an election writ is dropped on issues of this nature.

Falling out of the belated apology from Premier Wynne on TVO Ontario a week ago for those those gas plant moves are two issues directly related to them. In an apparent effort to close the barn doors after the cattle have fled, Minister Chiarelli issued instructions to the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) via a press release which stated; “the government has asked two key agencies to develop a new regional energy planning process based on formal input from municipalities, communities and the energy sector.”  Following that announcement Premier Wynne advised us all that “The Honourable Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Energy is working with his colleagues, including the Honourable Linda Jeffrey, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Honourable Jeff Leal, Minister of Rural Affairs, to address this issue [local energy projects and siting of renewable energy] and allow municipalities to have more input into energy projects in their communities.”  Minister Chiarelli has instructed the OPA and IESO to submit their report by August 1, 2013 whereas the Premier`s announcement does not appear to carry a specific reporting date.

Minister Chiarelli has also done nothing so far with the “Distribution Panel Report” that his predecessor, Chris Bentley received back in December of 2012 but hopefully the Minister will address it soon before Hydro One scoops up several more of the municipally owned local distribution companies (LDC) at above market prices as they did with Norfolk Power recently. Read more »
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