The PWU applauds the…

The PWU applauds the Ministry’s proposals for building more electricity transmission (as outlined in Chapter 3 of Energy for Generations: Ontario’s Integrated Plan to Power the Strongest Economy in the G7 (the Integrated Energy Plan or IEP)). The IEP has identified several priority projects, which represent critical transmission projects to alleviate bottlenecks and system constraints. In August 2025, the PWU provided feedback to the Ministry on the following priority projects:

1. The Barrie to Sudbury Transmission Lines, to enhance the transmission capacity between northern and southern Ontario; (ERO) 025-0656.
2. The Orangeville to Barrie Reconductoring Project, to enhance the transmission capacity between northern and southern Ontario; (ERO) 025-0657.
3. The Bowmanville to GTA Transmission Line, to enhance the transmission capacity east of Toronto; (ERO) 025-0658.
4. The Windsor to Lakeshore Transmission Line, to support critical transmission infrastructure in southwestern Ontario; (ERO) 025-0659.
5. The Greenstone Transmission Line, to enhance the transmission capacity in northern Ontario; (ERO) 025-0660.

The PWU strongly supports the proposed Project as a significant step in the development of transmission capacity required to support critical mining projects and meet the regional economic development needs. However, we reiterate the three recommendations offered with respect to the five priority transmission projects for which the PWU provided feedback to the Ministry in August 2025:

1. New transmission assets should be designed to accommodate high growth (as per the priorities for Ontario’s Integrated Energy Planning ). However, the PWU believes that the demand forecast should be substantially higher than the high-growth demand forecast referenced in the Integrated Energy Plan (IEP).

2. In Ontario’s current high demand growth environment, the costs/risks of underbuilding transmission assets are much higher than the costs/risks of right-sizing (or upsizing). Therefore, the Ministry should prioritize the development of greater transmission assets capacity as soon as possible to alleviate potential future constraints under a higher demand growth forecast.

3. The PWU supports efforts to improve regulatory efficiency and expedite the development of priority projects, under the condition that (a) constitutional rights are not compromised, and (b) the objectives of regulatory or environmental processes are not undermined, consistent with the government’s existing provisions. Coordination among government agencies should be pursued in a way that enhances clarity and timeliness, while fully respecting legal and constitutional obligations.

There is evident urgency to creating an effective energy planning framework for Ontario. The PWU applauds the efforts to introduce integrated energy planning in the IEP, including plans to build more transmission assets to address capacity constraints under a higher-growth forecast. As emphasized above, the PWU strongly supports the prioritization of The Red Lake Transmission Project (ERO) 025-1212 (ERO).

We believe these recommendations are consistent with, and supportive of Ontario’s objective “to
build-out of an affordable, reliable and clean energy system to meet the exceptional growth needs
of Ontario.” The PWU looks forward to discussing these comments in greater detail with the Ministry
and participating in the ongoing stakeholder engagements.