November 20, 2009

The Ontario Power Authority is responsible for making sure that Ontarians have the electricity that’s needed to run our homes and businesses and maintain our high quality of life now and in the future. We are doing this by delivering conservation programs to homeowners, businesses and industry and by supporting the elimination of dirty, coal-fired generation through the expansion of renewable energy and other cleaner sources of electricity.

In September 2009, we announced that TransCanada Corporation will build and operate a 900-megawatt gas-fired power plant in Oakville, providing a much needed and cleaner source of electricity for the fast-growing Southwest Greater Toronto Area.  The Oakville Generating Station, located on Royal Windsor Drive, just east of the Queen Elizabeth Way, will maintain local supply reliability and reduce the need to expand the GTA transmission system, replace dirty, coal-fired generation and provide critical back-up for new renewable energy from wind and solar power which aren’t available all the time.

Consider these facts:

— Average residential electricity consumption in Oakville in 2008 was 10 per cent higher than Mississauga and nearly 23% higher than Toronto, according to statistics from the Ontario Energy Board.

— Between 1985 and 2005, demand for electricity doubled in the Southwest GTA area, while local power generation was reduced by more than 50 percent.

— Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has said there is no evidence a natural gas-fired plant will negatively impact the health of area residents.

— Closing the coal-fired Lakeview Generating Station removed 1,150 MW of electricity from the grid, enough to power more than 1.1 million homes.

— Gas-fired power plants operate safely in urban areas in Mississauga, Toronto and Brampton.

— Oakville Generating Station’s emissions of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide will be 80 percent stricter than what the Ontario Ministry of the Environment requires.

— Annual emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter will be 14,000 tonnes less than if the electricity was produced at a coal-fired facility. Similarly, emissions of carbon dioxide - a greenhouse gas linked to climate change - will be reduced by 60 percent.

— Ontario Power Authority will invest up to $30-million over the next five years to reduce industrial electricity and gas consumption in the Southwest GTA.

— By 2014 all coal-fired generation in the province will be replaced with cleaner electricity. It is the single-largest climate change initiative in Canada and equivalent to removing up to seven million cars from our roads.

We value and respect community input and open communications. Since the Government of Ontario announced that a new power plant would be built in the Southwest GTA in August 2008, we have held four public information sessions and a town hall meeting for area residents. This is in addition to several meetings with community and municipal leaders and ongoing communications through email and the Ontario Power Authority’s website. In January 2010, TransCanada will hold another public information session to answer questions about the new power plant.

In the meantime, to learn more about the Oakville Generating Station, visit www.transcanada.com/oakville or email oakville@transcanada.com or call 1-866-317-9887.

For more information about Ontario’s electricity system, including the elimination of coal-fired generation and the expansion of renewable electricity, visit www.powerauthority.on.ca or call 416-967-7474 (press 4).

Sincerely,

Colin Andersen
Chief Executive Officer
Ontario Power Authority

Click here to read the original letter as it appeared in The Oakville Beaver.