Greening public power : protecting the public interest in electricity restructuring

On April 30, 2002, the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) called for a moratorium on the sale of Ontario's electricity system and called for new policies to protect the environment. The TEA is critical of the government's plan to privatise and deregulate the province's electricity system, given the experience with restructuring in the United States and Europe. The TEA argues that the plan to deregulate will promote the production of more electricity from polluting coal-fired power plants and nuclear power generating stations, increasing health risks. It was also argued that restructuring creates barriers to introducing green power from renewable resources such as wind and solar energy. The government's plan to restructure will create markets that are easily manipulated by large private power companies to increase profits and eliminate small green power providers. It was also suggested that once electric power generation is privatised, it will be subjected to the rules of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which prioritize profits over environmental protection. This report presents some environmental policies of other jurisdictions that have proven to save consumers money, provide security and jobs, while doing so in an environmentally sustainable manner. 29 refs