On Wednesday, June 26, Toronto City Councillors Dianne Saxe and Paula Fletcher will ask City Council to pass a motion requesting that the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and Toronto Hydro develop a plan to phase-out gas burning at the Portlands Energy Centre by 2035 except in extreme, emergency circumstances(capped at less than 88 hours/yr.)
The motion also calls on the IESO and Toronto Hydro to meet Toronto’s future electricity needs by rapidly increasing local renewable energy generation and storage and maximizing cost-effective energy efficiency.
As the City’s Transform Toronto Net Zero Strategy notes, it is vital that Toronto has a low-carbon electricity supply to achieve its climate goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
Unfortunately, the Government of Ontario is planning to ramp up the output and pollution from Ontario’s gas plants, including Portlands on Toronto’s waterfront, by more than 500% by 2030. Under its plan, 25% of Ontario’s electricity in 2030 will be produced by burning fossil gas – up from only 4% in 2017. We are going in the wrong direction.
The good news is that energy efficiency and wind and solar are now our lowest cost options to meet our future electricity needs. By investing in these options we can phase out dirty gas power and lower our electricity bills.
What you can do
If you live in the City of Toronto, please contact Mayor Chow and your local Councillor and ask them to support the Saxe/Fletcher motion.