Yesterday, four city councillors voted to stall action on phasing out the polluting Portlands gas plant and shifting the city to a renewable energy future.
Councillors Paula Fletcher, Rachel Chernos-Lin, Mike Colle and James Pasternak voted to send Councillor Dianne Saxe’s motion – calling for Toronto Hydro to develop a plan to phase-out Portlands by investing in energy efficiency, renewable and energy storage – to city staff for further study.
“Further study” is the black hole of city decision making, especially since the Councillors attached no deadline for a response. The last thing we need right now is further study of the idea of closing the city’s No. 1 air and climate polluter. Toronto is already falling behind on achieving its emission reduction targets and we don’t need another study (we already have that, thanks to the folks at TAF) to understand why – increased gas burning at Portlands is one of the biggest contributors to rising emissions.
Most astounding was the vote of Councillor Paula Fletcher whose ward includes the Portlands gas plant. We know from talking with her constituents that they want this major polluter gone from their ward. Councillor Fletcher strongly opposed building the plant in 2006 but now isn’t willing to support a key step to see it shut down ASAP.
Under the provincial plan for Toronto’s electricity future, Portlands will not only keep running, but it will burn ever more gas. According to the province’s plan, Ontario’s gas plants (including Portlands) will produce 23% more electricity in 2044 than they did last year. If we embrace the province’s delay-filled plan, we’ll be waiting for very high-cost and slow to deploy nuclear projects to be completed before seeing any progress on clearing our air or helping our climate.
Councillor Saxe has the right idea. We need Toronto Hydro to to develop a plan to do the right thing – deploy solar on parking lots, rooftops and other spaces, embrace the huge potential for deeper energy efficiency, and pay our EVs to provide power back to the grid when it is needed. These are steps we can take right now – no need for long delays, or costly American nuclear technology.
It’s time to tell the four weak links in the city’s climate future that we expect action now on phasing out the burning of American gas in our city. Tell them to get behind a plan to phase-out Portlands ASAP, instead of hiding behind a city bureaucrat. City Council must revisit this timid decision and show the province that it is willing to take strong action to protect the health and prosperity of our city.