Ontario Power Authority: on a path to a sustainable electricity future
Electricity has played a vital role in powering Ontario's economy, allowing our people and our businesses to compete and succeed on the world stage.
Electricity has played a vital role in powering Ontario's economy, allowing our people and our businesses to compete and succeed on the world stage.
At the Ontario Power Authority, we understand the historic responsibility of the electricity sector.
And we also understand the emergence of new realities that require bold new actions today and in the future. We face the stark challenges of tackling climate change and promoting economic growth.
They are twin challenges and they are sometimes described as competing concerns. But they also present a rare opportunity -- a convergence of conditions that demands leadership on both fronts.
For the Ontario Power Authority, that means ensuring an affordable and reliable supply of electricity for Ontarians.
It also means a commitment to sustainability in everything we do, from planning to procuring new sources of generation to working with our partners in the industry and in our communities.
What exactly does that mean? Our first priority is to help foster a culture of conservation in Ontario by providing coordination and funding to achieve the most aggressive targets for energy efficiency in North America – the equivalent of removing one of every five user from the grid by 2025.
We're also eliminating the single largest source of greenhouse gases in Ontario, our coal-fired power plants, by 2014.
That's the largest climate change initiative in North America, and with significantly reduced dependency on coal, we are well on track to meeting the target.
On the supply front, we are accelerating the development of renewable and cleaner power while upgrading our transmission capabilities.
The vision, regulatory framework, and leadership comes from the Government of Ontario and its Green Energy and Green Economy Act.
The new law means a shift to more local, distributed solutions, as well as a greater reliance on energy-efficient technologies to create new investments and to foster green jobs.
The Ontario Power Authority is focused on our role as enablers, and as a catalyst for change.
We will work to build on our progress in renewable energy, with North America's first comprehensive Feed-In Tariff program (FIT). FIT is launching this summer, and is designed to remove traditional barriers and unlock the grid to green energy projects for homeowners, businesses,
First Nations and Metis, and other communities throughout Ontario.
Technology is playing a vital role in helping consumers to understand their use of electricity and to manage their costs better.
Last February, the Smart Grid Forum, a broad-based industry group, recommended the development of a smart grid in Ontario to make it possible for two-way flow of electricity and information between customers and their electricity suppliers.
As an active participant in this group, the Ontario Power Authority will work together with its industry partners to create an electricity system to serve the digital age.
The Ontario Power Authority's road from 2009 to 2011 and beyond promises to be both challenging and exciting. We are proud of Ontario's progress and are determined to do more.
Now, more than ever, we have reason to act. And we also believe we have the vision and the plan to secure reliable, cost-effective and sustainable electricity for Ontarians well into the future.
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