Utilities gear up to be market-ready by fall.

• Author: SITTER, KEN
• Position: Brief Article

Ready or not, Ontario's electricity market will be open to competition next May.

Fortunately, spokespeople for the industry say they will be ready on time, if not earlier.

"I think we're diligently doing everything we can to be ready for the market," says David Wills, general manager of North Bay Hydro, echoing comments of other spokesmen.

"Our target is to be market-ready this fall," Will says, not ing the difficulty to date is getting the technology in place and working, and co-ordinating the different roles and responsibilities of the various agencies, distributors, retailers and generators.

"A lot of groups need to work together to make this hap pen," he adds, mentioning the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), the Independent Electrical Market Operator (IMO), Hydro One and even software manufacturers.

Thunder Bay Hydro's general manager, Larry Hebert, concurs.

"Some stuff is not in place yet," Hebert says, as his utility, like others, is waiting for information from the OEB, IMO or Hydro One.

"We're well positioned."

Thunder Bay Hydro is selling its billing and settlement services to other utilities throughout Northern Ontario, he says.

Both, however, expressed reservations about what will happen once the market is opened in May 2002, the deadline set earlier this year by the provincial government.

Wills says consumers do not have a good understanding of what is happening, how it will affect them or that local distributors will no longer be able to protect them from price fluctuations. Ontarians have had their hydro rates frozen for eight years.

"I would assume in five to 10 years consumers will know a lot more about electricity," Wills says.

Hebert also anticipates a period of market confusion, not just for individual consumers, but for industry as well.

"In the long run, competition should bring rates down," Hebert says. But in the short term, "a significant number of companies could be put in jeopardy." The disarray will depend on how quickly serious competition occurs and new generating capacity comes on stream, he says.

There has been interest in starting new generating projects in northwestern Ontario, including a small co-generation project between Lakehead University and a hospital, he says, but little action as of yet.

The five-member Northwestern Energy Association, which includes Thunder Bay Hydro, is interested in the sale of Ontario Power Generation's Atikokan and Thunder Bay generating plants, he say.

According to the Ministry of...