As a member of the Ontario…

As a member of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, I am commenting on my own as I have not canvassed the members for a collective response. As a former electrical system planner and financial evaluations officer, I support the integrated energy planning approach. I see the need for greater funding on energy efficiency and using the new technologies for both reducing overall energy like the improvements to the building envelope and also the use of more energy management systems for the reduction of peal demands. I suggest that the government look at a program to reinstate the cancelled contracts for renewables contingent on that party offering to increase their investment in energy efficiency and/or renewables especially now with storage. I have grave concerns about new investment in nuclear stations but if the risks of performance and cost overruns are on the providers and builders rather than the Ontario electrical customer or taxpayer then the these plants have to be built more quickly with new methods of fabrication. While I respect the IESO, need to maintain the reserve margin to be interconnected to the North American Grid, we need to keep the usage of the peaking gas plants to the levels they were intended to provide. There is no Ontario benefit to keep sending our funds to Alberta for natural gas when we can promote the use of ground source heat pumps even if they have a high initial cost. We need to look at new transactive energy opportunities with sharing of assets that could improve the use of waste in one facility to be provided to a near by facility with less regulations that force these proponents to become utilities.