Toronto, June 14, 2011 – Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner says the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit (OCEB) is a perverse incentive that could endanger the energy conservation savings the government is hoping to achieve.
- Watch the webcast of the press conference live from Queen’s Park
- Watch videos of the Commissioner outlining key points of the report:
- Click here for more information about the report
- Download the report on your computer (.pdf)
- Download the entire report on your mobile device (.epub)
In his Annual Energy Conservation Progress Report – 2010 (Volume One): Managing a Complex Energy System, released today, Gord Miller says “The 10 per cent rebate on electricity bills is an artificial subsidy on the price of electricity so it encourages consumers to use more.” A study by energy analysts estimated that the OCEB could wipe out a third of the planned conservation savings over the next four years.
Miller praises the government for introducing time-of-use pricing that encourages households and businesses to shift their consumption away from periods of high demand, but noted that price subsidies undercut this development. Prices will necessarily rise because of a backlog of transmission investments and new generation projects.. “Unfortunately, the government hasn’t addressed the issue of rising prices in a way that prioritizes conservation,” says Miller. “Instead it has continued the failed policy approach of the past where the government’s only answer to higher electricity prices is to artificially lower electricity prices.”
If the government feels the need to help consumers with the higher energy costs it could make the benefit a fixed amount, instead of tying it to consumption levels. “That way,” says Miller, “the Clean Energy Benefit would be less of a disincentive to electricity conservation.”
Miller is also concerned about delays in rolling out Ontario’s important Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) programs. Between now and 2014, electric utilities, supported by the Ontario Power Authority, are supposed to reduce overall electricity use, as well as peak demand. “Province-wide conservation programs were all supposed to begin in January 2011,” says the Commissioner, “but the delays mean we will miss opportunities this year.”
The Environmental Commissioner is also questioning a recent decision by the Ontario Energy Board to freeze conservation budgets for Union Gas and Enbridge Gas Distribution, particularly at a time when the government has cancelled its own conservation programs for gas consumers. “The Board has too narrow a view about the benefits that will come with increased conservation. It is ignoring the avoided infrastructure costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions that will come with reductions in consumption of natural gas.”
For more information, contact:
Maria Leung
Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
416-325-3371 / 416-819-1673
1-800-701-6454
Maria.leung@eco.on.ca
For French language release and bilingual support, please contact:
Jean-Marc Filion, 705-492-6997
The report is available for download at www.eco.on.ca
Aussi disponible en français
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The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario is the province’s independent environmental watchdog. Appointed by the Legislative Assembly, the ECO monitors and reports on compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights, the government’s progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its actions towards achieving greater energy conservation in Ontario.
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