Valuing public transportation systems

Writing on electricity in Ontario, I've frequently argued the value of a watt is simply the value of the incremental cost of the watt it displaces - meaning vRES sources with no dispatchability and not expectation of production during peak periods are only worth the fuel displaced when they are producing.
This article argues public transportation systems have much higher value than generally recognized for the same reason - they displace traffic in the most congested areas, at the times of heaviest gridlock.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hurting Michigan

Image
Parker Gallant has called for the Ontario government to "shutdown the intertie line with Michigan" - in an article that notes some of my work. I feel I should offer some support as Michigan is being a lousy neighbour and it would feel therapeutic, if nothing else, to respond. I'll try to stick to data. The system operator in Ontario (IESO) data indicates the Michigan intertie is the most lucrative for exports - but that's not saying much: exports at that intertie were bought in Ontario for an average of just 1.2 cents/kWh ($12/MWh) in 2020 - but were in such high demand another 0.9 cents/kWh of congestion rent was paid. Over the past 5 years congestion rents comprise 46% of the revenue on the Michigan intertie. The IESO's insiders' committees are considering how much of  this revenue to share with the exporters instead allowing it to solely benefit internal Ontario consumers. Action #1: hell no. Issue a ministerial directive that congestion rents will only b...
Read more

Ontario's electricity system has not yet passed gas

Image
Ontario’s electricity system includes generators fueled by natural gas. This is suddenly a hot topic as a campaign lobbying councils to say no to this type of generation moves through municipalities. The “no gas” lobbying appeals to a desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, exploiting predictions of increased use of natural gas in generating electricity in the province. This article will explore what entities have been the key drivers of emissions in Ontario’s electricity system, the credibility of the body being cited predicting increased generation fueled by natural gas and, if all goes well, convince the reader they are not willing to decrease global carbon emissions at any cost. Background on the IESO’s pretend market My previous post reconstructed a method to estimate losses on electricity exports out of Ontario. The measure does not indicate Ontario would be better off if it didn’t export its excess, but that Ontario would be better off with data discipline and consistent me...
Read more