generation and has asked the electricity system regulator to speed up a report exploring a moratorium.
Todd Smith had previously asked the Independent Electricity System Operator to report back by November on the feasibility of a moratorium and a plan to get to zero emissions in the electricity sector. He has asked them today for an interim report by Oct. 7 so he can make a decision on a moratorium before the IESO secures contracts over the long term for new power generation.The regulator today released a list of 55 qualified proponents for those long-term bids and while it says there is a significant amount of proposed energy storage projects on that list, there is some natural gas.
In the near term, the IESO also announced today that it had offered new, five-year contracts starting in the next few years to six generators that were off contract or coming off contract – four are natural gas, one is wind power and one is storage. The IESO has said that right now natural gas generation can provide the reliability and flexibility needed to support an increase in electricity demand, while Ontario is already using hydro to its max, and solar and wind power are weather dependent.East coast environmentalists call for rejection of Liquefied Natural Gas facilities – Aug 10, 2022