Posts

Rant: Electioneering and the IESO

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I used to have a writing process where if something annoyed me I'd write on it quickly, and then edit out all the anger. I generally figure readers shouldn't have to deal with my anger - but it's time for some  Networking . "...I'm not going to leave you alone. I want you to get mad. ... all's I know is you've got to get mad" You've been forewarned.   The need to rant really started a while ago with reading a  "Message from Peter Gregg " - the big DOWG at Ontario's electricity system operator A tournament, a tournament, A tournament of lies.  - R.E.M. Before moving to bigger disappointments I'll start with the politicians. Yesterday the Ontario Progressive Conservatives announced they'll cut Ontario electricity rates by 12%. I was already mad when I read that, and I think it actually nudged me a little away from anger towards resignation. Tom Adams concluded a piece on the Conservative guarantee with: There is no reason to ex...

behind the bad Ontario electricity news

The Globe and Mail published an article by its Ontario legislative reporter Justin Giovannetti,  In Ontario, hydro’s future gets murkier as costs of leaving the grid decline.  The article posits, " a future where Ontarians produce their own power and cut the cord to the wider grid appears to be approaching." It's a very bizarre assortment of factoids that supports the proposition. Often stories are planted. I mean no disrespect to Mr. Giovannitti when I say this little fact is planted by somebody promoting a story: ...Feb. 18 could be seen as the start of the province's electrical transformation. On that Saturday, with the sun blazing and a strong wind powering turbines, demand for electricity from the province's traditional generating stations was actually lower in the busy middle of the day than it had been when most people were sleeping hours earlier. That is a possible description of what happened that February Saturday. It was the first day since 2003's b...

Ontario Wind: Worst value getting worser

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A spreadsheet I regularly update with data on industrial wind turbine (IWT) generation in Ontario is cited in Parker Gallant's recent,  Wind: worst value for Ontario consumers . The same post cites the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) commentary on Ontario's recently released Long Term-Energy Plan 2017, which included: New wind energy provides the best value for consumers to meet growing demand for affordable non-emitting electricity. Let's examine the "value" as electricity - as there is no market in Ontario for any subset of that commodity, including "affordable non-emitting". Two definitions of "value" from the Oxford dictionary are pertinent: "The regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something." "The worth of something compared to the price paid or asked for it." By the first definition wind is clearly the least valued generation type in Ontario. Using only very ...

The declining value of Ontario exports

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Yesterday Statistics Canada's daily news included  Electricity supply and disposition, 2016.  Geoff Zochodne, a reporter at the National Post, gleaned this message from the release: "Ontario exported more power to the U.S. last year than it has in a decade, and at a relatively low value." This initiated some e-mailing, which drew me into the data quagmire again, but also reflecting on my history reporting on exports. Instead of putting my thoughts into private e-mails, I thought I'd make them the content of this public blog post. I'll return to the newly posted Statistics Canada data later, but for now I'll declare my bias as printed in the Financial Post early in 2016: "...StatsCan data is awful. It can’t be the basis for anything." The recent release has mostly meaningful data, but some big errors mean it's far from the best data to serve in analyzing Ontario's exports - or anything else. Some background on my involvement reporting on expo...

hot Sunday, windy Sunday

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I noted Sunday morning curtailment of potential generation was around record levels - a claim repeated Sunday afternoon at a rally against a facility in Prince Edward County . My friend Parker Gallant subsequently wrote on the wasted wind that day . I thought a post comparing the past Sunday to other days might be instructive. I developed a single page daily report some time ago - something Parker felt useful. The report for Sunday October 15th  estimates the cost to a Class B consumer of consuming one megawatt-hour of electricity at $145/MWh. $145/MWh was up steeply from the $108/MWh I estimated as the average cost for Class B consumers  on the previous day . That $37 difference is greater than the difference estimated for exporters: on Saturday their price averaged $27/MWh; on Sunday it was free. The difference in cost for exporters is due to the change in the Hourly Ontario Energy Price, which dropped from $135/MWh in hour 9 on Saturday, when wind was forecast to produce 149 megawat...

Turbine Approval Revoked

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Bayshore broadcasting reports : Approval for wind turbines in Clearview Township has been revoked. The Environmental Review Tribunal released its decision today (Wednesday) to revoke the previous Renewable Energy Approval. Although the article notes the proponent has 15 days to appeal, I've switched the status to "Cancelled" on my map of industrial turbines in Ontario. The Environmental Review Tribunal's action might prove contagious. It's unclear why the IESO is not exercising contract clause's to revoke other feed-in tariff (FIT) contracts. I reviewed FIT 1 contracts and found this: Article 9 TERMINATION AND DEFAULT... 9.1 Events of Default by the Supplier (j) The Commercial Operation Date has not occurred on or before the date which is 18 months after the Milestone Date for Commercial Operation, or otherwise as may be set out in Exhibit A. So I checked my import of data from an IESO contract data listing (should match this ). Aside from the Fairview site j...

The Class A cost transfer

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Parker Gallant has a new post covering the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI), or Class A Global Adjustment mechanism:  Ontario’s class distinction stings ordinary hydro customers.  In early 2010, then Minister of Energy Brad Duguid issued a directive to the OPA (Ontario Power Authority) instructing them to create and deliver an “industrial energy efficiency program” specifically for large transmission connected (TX) ratepayers. That directive led to the creation of the two classes of ratepayers that now exist in Ontario. It's an appropriate time to revisit the topic because this past week Ontario's Minister of Energy was touting the electricity cost-saving opportunities for businesses that qualify for participation in a newly expanded ICI, because those savings come from shifting costs to other consumers. If you are unfamiliar with the topic the latest article may inspire you to learn more, I recommend some articles for doing so at the end of this short post. One statem...