Ontario Electricity System
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FNMRFacebookOntario Electricity System
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FNMRFacebookOntarios Electricity System
The challenge of managing the electricity system begins with balancing just enough supply of electricity with the need for it on a minute-by-minute basis. There are many moving parts to the electricity system, all of which need to be carefully coordinated for the system to work. Ontario is committed to conservation and building strong communities, powered by clean, reliable and affordable electricity.
CONSERVATION GENERATION
The province has many generators who use diverse and complementary sources of energy to provide reliable and affordable electricity. These sources are nuclear, hydro, natural gas, wind, solar and bioenergy.
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Ontario has enough electricity to meet its needs, however consumers are encouraged to help reduce the demand for electricity through conservation. This helps to avoid the need for signicant investment in new electricity infrastructure.
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SMART
TRANSMISSION
Ontarios ve transmission companies move electricity at high voltages over long distances, from generation sites to local distribution companies and consumers.
CONSUMERS
The role of consumers in the electricity system is changing. Consumers can actively manage their own electricity use and save on their electricity bills. They are able to shift their electricity use to periods of lower prices, adopt new technologies to use electricity more efciently and even install technology that allows them to generate their own electricity.
DISTRIBUTION
Local distribution companies own and operate the distribution networks that take electricity from the transmission system or other local sources of generation and deliver it to consumers.
Key Players in Ontarios Electricity Sector
TRANSMISSION
The Ontario government sets the provinces energy policy and its priorities. The Ministry of Energy periodically updates the governments Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) to ensure it meets current conditions. The LTEP sets goals for Ontarios electricity sector and its agencies, and it provides a plan to meet generation needs and conservation objectives. The Ontario Power Authority manages long term electricity supply planning, coordinates province-wide conservation efforts, and contracts with suppliers for clean energy resources. Hydro One handles 97% of the electricity transmission in Ontario, delivering power over high voltage transmission lines to local distribution companies (LDCs) and industrial customers. Its transmission lines carry electricity at voltages of as high as 500,000 volts. This electricity is often stepped down, or transformed to lower voltages for that can be used by LDCs.
GENERATORS AND SUPPLIERS
Energy utilities in Ontario are regulated by the Ontario Energy Board and most energy companies are licensed by the Ontario Energy Board. The OEB is a quasi-judicial tribunal that ensures consumers pay fair and reasonable rates for the electricity and natural gas they use.
Ontario Power Generation produces about half of the electricity generated in Ontario, mainly from its nuclear and hydroelectric power plants. OTHER SUPPLIERS The remainder of Ontarios electricity needs are provided by renewable generation (wind, solar and bioenergy), natural gas-red power plants owned by companies such as TransCanada, York Energy Centre and Northland Power and by nuclear generation from
DISTRIBUTION
80 local distribution companies (LDCs) in Ontario deliver electricity to 4.8 million customers. They take the power delivered by transmitters and further reduce the voltage to the 120/240 volts that most of us require. LDCs vary considerably in size. The three largest, Hydro One Networks (the distribution arm of Hydro One), Toronto Hydro and Powerstream have between 300,000 and 1. 2 million customers each. The smallest LDCs regulated by the Ontario Energy Board have between 1,200 and 1,700 customers each.
The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) connects the generators, transmitters, distributors and consumer. Every ve minutes, the IESO matches the provinces electricity demand with the supply offered by generators. The IESO also does short-range planning and produces an 18-month outlook of whether expected electricity supply will be able to meet forecasted demand.
Bruce Power.