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A Look Back at Our Top Energy Stories From 2020 By David Stevens Jan 21, 2021 In the energy sector, the Ontario government announced a number of initiatives in 2020 to help th... In the energy sector, the Ontario government announced a number of initiatives in 2020 to help those who were struggling to pay their energy bills as a result of COVID-19. However, a few other issues made headlines as well and in this article, we look back at a few of the top stories we covered o...

Posted in: Procurement | Ontario

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Ron Clark Comments on the Ontario Generation Contract Review Report By Ron W. Clark Dec 17, 2020 In a recent article published in Energy Regulation Quarterly, Ron Clark provides commentary on a ... In a recent article published in Energy Regulation Quarterly, Ron Clark provides commentary on a report which reviewed existing generation contracts and identified changes that might result in cost savings.

Posted in: Procurement | Ontario | Energy Policy

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IESO Forecasts Electricity Shortfall of 1,400 MW by 2023 Oct 19, 2018 The IESO recently released details of its long-term electricity outlook and planning processes. The IESO projects a shortfall of 1,400 MW by 2023 and 3,700 MW by 2025 before plateauing to about 2,000 MW over the long term. The need for new capacity is primarily driven by the retirement of the Pic...

Posted in: Energy Policy | Ontario | Procurement

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Study Estimates Billions of Dollars in Benefits From IESO's Market Renewal Project By David Stevens Mar 10, 2017 A recent study prepared by the Brattle Group and others for Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) estimates that Ontario could realize net benefits of $2.2 billion to $5.2 billion from reforming the wholesale electricity markets. This would be achieved thr...

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Ontario's Energy Minister Directs IESO to Fund New Programs and Amend FIT Procurements By David Stevens Dec 21, 2016 On December 16, 2016, Ontario's Minster of Energy issued a Directive to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to amend or revoke previous directions. The Directive addresses a number of topics, including amending targets for the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program,...

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Alberta Announces a Consumer Electricity Price Ceiling and Major Changes to Electricity Market Dec 01, 2016 The government of Alberta has had a busy month with several significant announcements relating to electricity in the province. At the beginning of November, the government released details of its Renewable Electricity Program (see our previous post). In the last ...

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Alberta Releases Details of Renewable Electricity Program Nov 15, 2016 On November 3, 2016, the Government of Alberta released the first details of its Renewable Electricity Program (the REP). Under the REP, Alberta intends to procure 5,000 MW of renewable electricity generation capacity through a competitive process administered by the Alberta Electric System Opera...

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Ontario Suspends Second Round of Large Renewable Procurement Sep 27, 2016 The Ministry of Energy announced today that Ontario will immediately suspend the second round of the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP II) and Energy-from-Waste Standard Offer Program. This will halt the procurement of over 1,000 MW of solar, wind, hydroelectric, bioenergy and energy from waste pr...

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Update: Fallout Continues Over Termination of Alberta Power Purchase Arrangements with Coal-Fired Generators Sep 14, 2016 The Alberta government recently filed a court action to prevent Enmax, TransCanada, AltaGas and Capital Power from ending Power Purchase Arrangements (the "PPAs") with coal fired power plants in Alberta. As we previously wrote, the companies rely on...

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Minister's Directive re LRP II, Conservation First and Support Programs Jun 17, 2016 On June 10, 2016, the Minister of Energy directed (the "Directive") the Independent Electricity System Operator (the "IESO") to expand the scope of the second phase of the Large Renewable Procurement ("LRP II"), previously announced on April 5, 2016 and discussed here.The Directive ins...

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IESO to Prepare a Technical Report on Ontario's Electricity System to Support Development of the New LTEP By David Stevens Jun 14, 2016 On June 10, 2016, Ontario's Minister of Energy issued a letter to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), requiring the IESO to "submit a technical report on the adequacy and reliability of Ontario's electricity resources." This report is t...

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Ontario Legislature Has Passed the Energy Law Statute Amendment Act (Bill 135) By David Stevens Jun 06, 2016 On June 2, 2016, the Ontario Legislature passed the Energy Statute Law Amendment Act, 2015 (also referred to as Bill 135). The new legislation will come into force at a currently unspecified later date.We have previously written about the content and implications of the Energy S...

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Fallout Continues over Termination of Alberta Power Purchase Arrangements with Coal-Fired Generators May 09, 2016 Earlier this spring, TransCanada Corp. announced that it would cancel its power purchase arrangements ("PPAs") with certain coal-fired plants in Alberta. The company's stated reason for the termination was increased costs associated with CO2 emissions over ...

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Large Renewable Procurement ("LRP") - Take 2 - And Related Procurement Directions From the Minister of Energy Apr 08, 2016 On April 5, 2016, the Minister of Energy directed (the "Direction") the IESO to undertake the second phase of the LRP ("LRP II") that was first announced in 2013.The Direction follows the Independent Electricity System Operator's (the "IESO") recen...

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An Introduction to Energy Storage in Ontario By David Stevens Mar 16, 2016 The use of new and existing technologies to store electricity is an increasingly important and visible issue in the energy field. Energy storage has been referred to by many commentators as a "game changer," as it will greatly improve the efficient use of electricity resources (generation, transm...

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Disruptive Technologies: Challenges & Opportunities for Electricity Distributors Mar 09, 2016 Ron Clark recently presented at ENERCOM 2016 on the topic of Disruptive Technologies: Challenges & Opportunities for Electricity Distributors. A copy of Ron's presentation can be found here.ENERCOM, in its 17th year, is hosted annually by the Electricity Distributor's As...

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Nevada's Net-Metering Decisions - A Not-so-Thin Edge of the Wedge By Randy Williamson Feb 19, 2016 On February 12, Nevada's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted to alter its December 2015 ruling that will dramatically, and retroactively, reduce the rate at which distributed solar generation facilities will be paid for electricity produced - agreeing to implement its ruling over 12 year...

Posted in: Energy Policy | Facilities | Procurement

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Ontario Commits to Bruce Power Nuclear Refurbishment Agreement Dec 10, 2015 Ontario recently announced that the province has concluded a deal with Bruce Power to refurbish six of its eight reactors at the Tiverton-based nuclear generation station.The IESO (then OPA) and Bruce Power entered into negotiations following the release of Ontario's Long-Term Energy Plan in De...

Posted in: Energy Policy | Ontario | Procurement

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Ontario Government States That Bill 135 Answers Many Concerns Raised in the Auditor General's Report By David Stevens Dec 08, 2015 On December 2, 2015, Ontario's Auditor General released her 2015 Annual Report. One topic within the report that has received a lot of attention from the media and commentators (see for example, here and here) is "Electricity Power System Planning." The hea...

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Ontario Government Introduces New Long Term Energy Planning and Energy Conservation Legislation By David Stevens Oct 29, 2015 On October 28, 2015, Minister Chiarelli introduced Bill 135, which is titled the Energy Statute Amendment Act, 2015. The proposed new legislation proposes a number of changes to the Green Energy Act, 2009, the Electricity Act, 1998 and the Ontario Energy Board A...

Posted in: Energy Policy | Ontario | Procurement

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Do Capacity Markets Offer New Business Opportunities for LDCs? Jun 08, 2015 On May 14, 2015, Aird & Berlis LLP hosted a webinar on the impact of the upcoming introduction by the Independent Electricity System Operator (the "IESO") of electricity resource and Demand Response ("DR") capacity markets in Ontario on local distribution companies ("LDCs"). Ron Clark, Par...

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Update on the Large Renewable Procurement May 06, 2015 On March 10, 2015, the IESO posted the final RFP and contract materials for the first phase of the Large Renewable Procurement Request for Proposals (LRP I RFP). Qualified applicants have until September 1, 2015 to submit project-specific proposals which must include full details about the projec...

Posted in: Energy Policy | Ontario | Procurement

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OEB Issues Staff Report on the 2014 Natural Gas Market Review By David Stevens Apr 18, 2015 On March 31, 2015, Ontario Energy Board staff issued a report to the OEB about the 2014 Natural Gas Market Review (NGMR). The OEB staff report summarizes what was presented and discussed through the NGMR consultation, and makes recommendations for next steps. A key suggestion from OEB staff is f...

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