Opportunity Series takes charge of energy issues.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: NEWS

Efforts to adjust to the province's proposed energy mix may raise the price of energy by at least 15 per cent over the next 20 years, according to Paul Shervill, vice-president of conservation and sector development for the Ontario Power Authority.

Speaking at the 10th NORCAT / Northern Ontario Business Opportunity Series (NNOS) breakfast Nov. 20, Shervill said the OPA's plans to meet stringent conservation targets and capital expenditures by 2027 will require $60 billion worth of increases in energy rates.

"That's the reality of having a safe, reliable, sustainable electricity system in Ontario, given the policy constraints that we have," Shervill says, adding that the 15 per cent increase is over and above standard inflation.

"We all know we need electricity to survive, and there's no question it's going to cost us more than we're paying today."

Factors in these increases include the government's plans to phase out the use of coal by 2014 and restore three nuclear power plants for another 20 years.

With nuclear power making up half the province's energy capacity, this means mat 80 per cent of the province's power supply will need to be replaced in the next two decades, he says.

This will require roughly $60 billion in funding, of which $10 billion will be used for conservation initiatives, $46 billion on new generation and $4 billion for the installation of new transmission lines.

These numbers are outlined in the OPA's Integrated Power System Plan, a 7,000-page document which details the organization's outlook and action over the next 20 years. In order to keep pace with technology and social changes, it will be updated every three...