The Myth of the horse racing subsidy

My MPP finally got mentioned in the Globe and Mail

That Dalton McGuinty would even consider no longer using slot-machine revenue to prop up an otherwise money-losing racing industry, veteran MPP Garfield Dunlop charged, is proof that the Premier “hates rural Ontario.”

             -Adam Radwanski

Ah yes ... the horse racing subsidy.

This from a brief mention in the recent report of the Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services:

In addition to revenues from wagering, since the late 1990s the industry has benefited from a provincial tax expenditure (a reduction to the provincial pari-mutuel tax) and a percentage of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s gross slot revenues that together are worth an estimated $400 million in 2011–12. Over the past 12 years, approximately $4 billion has flowed through 17 racetracks to support purses, racetrack capital improvement and operating costs.  - page 316

Later, on page 408, the report would put the shocking tag of $334 million in 2009-2010, an amount Dwight Duncan would note; “would pay for over nine million hours of home care or insulin pumps and supplies for five years for almost 17,000 people,” Mr. Duncan said.  - February 13, 2012

At The End of the IESO 18-Month Outlook

"Though energy from coal in 2011 was less than three per cent of total output, at times the flexibility of coal units is beneficial."

"The availability of the remaining coal fleet, although running at reduced levels from previous years, provides flexibility which is very beneficial to the reliable operation of the Ontario power system."

Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) released it's latest 18-Month Outlook on Friday, as they do quarterly along with the supporting documentation. I've always found the organization exemplary in making data available as widely as possible, and noted Steve Paikin's blog entry yesterday also showed admiration for the behavior of this public organization. The report book-ended a week that started with the firing, without cause, of the suddenly former chief of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), general manager Gary Webster. I don't follow Toronto's politics closely, but I was e-mailed, along with the link to an article in the Toronto Star, the suggestion a chill could run through many bureaucracies following the firing of Mr. Webster. Mr. Webster was unwilling to make a case that the Mayor was ordering him to make. I'm certain there are many shades of grey to the TTC situation, but I think the bureaucrat must exist somewhere between resisting to undertake the ridiculous, and placating the powers beyond the silo or their expertise while arguing their educated views to represent the public responsibly. I prefer to work with base data, but the 18-month outlook is always informative, and I believe, very subtly, rebelliously/responsibly, independent.

Updated Weekly Reporting:Wk 7

The data sheets behind the NEW: Weekly Report, have been refreshed, so the reporting is now showing for the week of February 15-21.
The demand trend down continued, with the average Ontario Demand dropping 542MW against the same week the previous year.
The price trend down continues, with the average Hourly Ontario Energy Price dropping over $8/MWh from week 7 the previous year, which is about a 25% drop.  The range in the HOEP over the week was mainly limited, with a low of $14.86/MWh but the high came in one exceptional hour on Saturday the 18th as prices surged to $280.73/MWh at 7pm, as demand peaked, and as wind output dropped.  During the week the average pricing for off-peak hours, which include all of Saturday, exceeded the average price for on-peak hours.
The depressed prices did coincide with a slight rise in net exports.

Updated Weekly Reporting:Wk 6

The data sheets behind the NEW: Weekly Report, have been refreshed, so the reporting is now showing for the week of February 8-14.
The demand trend down continued, with the average Ontario Demand dropping 615MW against the same week the previous year, but a cold weekend did provide the first days up over the comparable day a year earlier (ie. the 6th Saturday of the year).
The price trend down continues, with the average Hourly Ontario Energy Price dropping over $11/MWh from week 6 the previous year, to only $22.48.  The range in the HOEP over the week was extremely limited, with a low of $14.51/MWh and a high of only $28.34.
The depressed prices coincided with an increase in net exports to an average of 1452MW per hour.

Nuclear output was again the most reduced source, compared to the 6th week of 2011, while coal saw the largest increase.

Drummond Report - On Electricity, it's worthless

Officially titled, the Don Drummond led "Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services" devotes a section to electricity.  Here's the recommendation - along with my initial reaction to each of them:

Recommendation 12-10: Eliminate the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit as quickly as possible.
I guess that would be now – the vote buying worked already

Recommendation 12-11: Review all other energy subsidy programs against measures of value for money and achievement of specific policy goals.
Bureaucrat paid to control expenses recommends more reviewing; empty-headed twaddle.

Updated Weekly Report: Wk 5 now showing

The data sheets behind the NEW: Weekly Report, have been refreshed, so the reporting is now showing for the week of February 1-7.
The demand trend down continues (as does the milder than usual winter), with the average Ontario Demand dropping over 1400MW against the same week the previous year.
The price trend down continues, with the average Hourly Ontario Energy Price dropping over $14/MWh, to only $21.58.
There was a large curtailment of supply necessary the morning of the 1st, coincident with strong wind production and negative prices.

Weekly Reporting on Ontario's Electricity System

After early reports, my testing does indicate the page referenced in this post, and many pages already on this site, are not compatible with Internet Explorer 8 - the last IE available for Windows XP.

I have no intention of making the pages compatible - see the sidebar for options.

I've posted a summary of weekly supply and demand statistics in Ontario. The final pieces of the data driving the reporting are posted by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which is generally on Friday. My reporting thus far agrees, as expected, with the reliable IESO reporting .  There are 3 reasons to check out mine:

• Context - I include comparison data to the same week in the prior year. 
• Graphics - Primary the communication is via graphs.  
• Curtailment - The reporting includes an estimation of how much supply is curtailed, hourly, throughout the weekly period.  The IESO does not.
• Supply Mix information.

The weekly reporting can be accessed by selecting the "NEW: Weekly Report" tab, beside the "Home" tab on this site.