Electricity Policy
Policy approved by Society Council October 24, 2005. The Society has also developed a number of companion policy documents called "Backgrounders" that are incorporated into this Policy by reference.
Preamble
Nearly 100 years ago, a commitment to public ownership of Ontario's electricity industry emerged victorious from a struggle with private interests who sought control of and profit from Ontarian's growing reliance on electricity for basic human needs and for economic development. That commitment stood firm in this Province for most of the century to become one of the foundation stones upon which Ontario's economy was built and Ontarian's quality of life was raised.
The end of the 20th century has seen the re-emergence, globally, of those private interests that seek to own and profit from our dependence on electricity. Since the 1990s, successive governments in Ontario, either spooked by, or committed to, an ideological trend in favour of globalization, privatization and deregulation have let go of this commitment to public ownership of electricity.
Either in fear of, or in the fervour of, these ideological forces, our governments have lost sight of a simple truth recognized by those who fought and won this struggle in the last century: electricity should be owned by Ontarians for the benefit of Ontarians.
The struggle of a century ago is being replayed now in our Province. As workers in the electricity industry we have witnessed, up close, governments and management of this industry cripple the credibility of ideas that served this Province well.
As Energy Professionals we believe that there can be no successful, meaningful or viable electricity policy for Ontario that does not respect the views and interests of those who operate this Province's electricity industry. And so, as Energy Professionals with the skills, knowledge and technical expertise upon which a successful electricity industry in this Province must be re-built, we offer the following as the basis for the future of the electricity industry in Ontario.
Public Ownership
Vital Service
Electricity is a vital service. It has become our source of some fundamental human needs, including light and warmth. The life support systems of our Province - our hospitals, our security systems and our emergency systems - depend on electricity. Electricity heats us in the Winter and protects the vulnerable from the life-threatening extremes of our Summer climate. Electricity powers the institutions of our public life - our schools, colleges and universities; our courts; our prisons; government offices and services; and, in many instances, our public transportation systems.
The Society supports public ownership of the electricity industry in order to provide reliable and safe electricity at stable and reasonable prices.
Private equity and private operations of the public assets will be supported when it is in the best interests of our members and the viability of the employer.
The Economy
Electricity powers our economy. Approximately 70% of electricity used in this province powers Ontario's industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors. Reliable and safe electricity at reasonable and stable prices has been, and will remain, essential to the economic fortunes of Ontario. The jobs of Ontario's workers depend on the reliable and safe electricity at reasonable and stable prices.
Our collective economic dependence on reliable and safe electricity at reasonable and stable prices requires that the electricity industry be publicly owned and directed to serve the public interest of all Ontarians. The electricity industry must remain in public control to be used as an instrument of economic growth for Ontario and its workers.
The Environment
Our electricity industry has, for a great many years, relied on fuel sources for the generation of electricity that are now recognized to be harmful to our environment and to human health.
The Kyoto Accord, ratified by the Government of Canada, is based on the conclusion that the use of fossil fuels is the underlying cause of global warming.
Ontario's Ministry of Environment identified Ontario's fossil fuel generating stations as being responsible for the output of 15% to 24% of critical air pollutants produced in Ontario. Emissions from fossil fuel generation have been found to cause cardiovascular problem and a variety of respiratory problem.
As the future direction of the electricity industry will affect the health of Ontarians and the environment that we all share, the electricity industry must be publicly owned and highly regulated by the government.
The Society calls for the development of a long-term plan toward reliance on sustainable energy sources for the generation of electricity and of sustainable levels of electricity consumption. 1
The development of a long-term plan should be based on the tenets of Integrated Resource Planning: demand-side resources (mechanisms and technologies that reduce or manage end-user demand) should be treated with the same weight as supply-side resources (generation or storage); and, social and environmental factors, economic factors, as well as the uncertainties and risks posed by different resource choices need to inform any assessment of future direction.
Long-term planning toward sustainable energy sources and sustainable levels of electricity consumption implies both a horizontally (supply-side resource portfolio) integrated and a vertically (from generation to consumption) integrated industry structure - that is, a centrally-planned system - with a constant focus on research and development.
Self-Sufficiency
For all of the reasons stated above, The Society urges self-sufficiency in, and public ownership of, the provision of electricity so that Ontarians retain sovereignty over public policy matters (economic, environmental and health) flowing from our dependence on the reliable and safe flow of electricity at reasonable and stable prices.
Labour Transition
The Society supports the participation of workers and their unions in decisions that impact on the work that they do, the industries in which they work and the communities in which they live.
The Society believes that any successful, meaningful or viable electricity policy for Ontario that must incorporate the views and interests of the Energy Professionals who operate this Province's electricity industry. Our participation is essential to defining problems and finding solutions in our workplaces and our industry.
The Society believes that the livelihoods of workers in the electricity industry, the strength of their unions and the viability of their communities are social factors that must be integrated into the planning of the future of the industry.
On the principle that the costs of environmental change need to be fairly distributed amongst the beneficiaries of such change, The Society supports the notion of a "just transition" to sustainable jobs and industries for workers and unions adversely affected by industry dislocation.
1 See "Hydroelectric Backgrounder."