The efficiency advantage

• Ontario lags behind
• Weak first efforts
• The opportunity
• Getting our act together

Weak first efforts

Despite Premier Dalton McGuinty's call for the creation of a "culture of conservation" in Ontario, the province is moving slowly in actually trying to reap the benefits of greater efficiency:

• reduced smog and climate change emissions
• reduced energy costs and a buffer against steadily rising utility bills
• increased security thanks to less strain on the electricity grid and generating infrastrucutre
• more comfortable and efficient homes and workplaces thanks to energy saving measures and better technologies
• a quicker end to dirty fired electricity generation
• no need to import dirty coal power, especially on smog-alert days

For every dollar the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) has spent on efficiency and conservation measures, it has spent $60 on new electricity supply contracts. (See the pie chart to the left for the spending breakdown.)

Today, the OPA is offering large customers who reduce their energy usage just a fraction (2-5%) of what energy from new nuclear plants will cost. (See the Ontario Clean Air Alliance factsheet, Conservation vs. New Supply for more details.) We obviously need to get serious about really investing in conservation and efficiency and closing the efficiency gap with our major competitors.

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Increasing energy efficiency is much less costly than building new generating sources and the potential for increasing efficiency in Ontario is huge.

Sign the petition for a Nuclear Cost Responsibility Act for Ontario

Every nuclear construction project in Ontario's history has gone massively over budget. And we are all on the hook for these runaway costs, paying a nuclear debt surcharge on every kilowatt of electricity we use. Renewable and natural gas generating projects are strictly prohibited from passing on cost overruns to consumers or taxpayers. It’s time to level the playing field and end nuclear’s free ride.

Read our recipe for Ontario's Green Future