Privatized generators are to see price reductions as the public generator's pricing soars
Ontario’s electricity system operator recently announced a Northern Hydro Program (NHP), calling it, “another critical component to the IESO’s strategy to meet unprecedented forecasted demand through the use of the Resource Adequacy Framework.”
The NHP will secure over 1,000 megawatts from approximately 26 large, hydroelectric generating facilities in Northern Ontario, providing considerable value for ratepayers with expected savings to re-contract facilities at rates 20 per cent below those under previous contracts compared to extending current contract terms. The program is intended to support the continued operation of these facilities with new 20-year contracts…
This news, while positive, is not as clear a win for ratepayers as it appears. The hydro sites to be re-contracted, under the NHP, are those contracted under a previous program known as the Hydroelectric Contract Initiative (HCI). A little over 6 years ago, the IESO posted a directive on the wind-down of the HCI program, noting, “The HCI program is the IESO’S last active electricity generation procurement program. The HCI program allowed existing hydroelectric facilities without electricity contracts to obtain 20-year contracts…”
The HCI-to-NHP transition isn’t the first re-contracting of the gluttonous green energy procurements that occurred around 2010, but they may be the first 20-year extensions.
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| Sites contracted under the HCI program |
