Eves government takes action to increase Ontario's supply of electricity
NIAGARA FALLS, ON, Nov. 12 - With Niagara Falls thundering in the
background, Energy Minister John Baird and Niagara Falls MPP Bart Maves today
announced further details of the Eves government's action plan to lower hydro
bills. Baird said immediate and decisive action will be taken to increase the
province's supply of electricity.
"While the province has a sufficient supply of electricity to meet
current demand, we need more generation to keep prices at reasonable levels
and to meet the long term needs of families, businesses and farmers across
Ontario," said Baird.
The government's action plan, if passed by the legislature, would:
- Provide a comprehensive tax holiday to help create more electricity
from cleaner, alternative and renewable energy sources, including
natural gas, hydro-electric, solar and wind power;
- Allow the Beck Tunnel Project at Niagara Falls, an expansion of the Sir
Adam Beck Generating Station, to proceed. Proposed tax reductions would
help support this project.
- Allow the Ministry of Energy to proceed with an independent study on
the feasibility of moving forward with the Beck 3 generating project in
Niagara Falls;
- Introduce measures to provide a property tax holiday for newly created
assets that generate alternative electricity. The Ontario Waterpower
industry has benefited from such a property tax holiday on new
investment since 2001. To date, over $200 million in new investment has
been committed. Compensation to municipalities for lost property tax
from this new holiday would be provided similar to that provided in
relation to waterpower.
- Direct Ontario Power Generation to accelerate its assessment of an
exciting new 500 MW generating project on Toronto's Portlands, on the
site of the old Hearn Generating Station. This will be a public-private
partnership;
- Allow a 100-per-cent corporate tax write-off for the cost of assets
used to generate electricity from alternative and renewable sources;
- Bring forward a capital tax exemption for assets used to generate
electricity from renewable sources;
- Provide a sales tax rebate for building materials used to construct
alternative energy facilities;
- Create a corporate income tax holiday for revenues derived from the
sale of new supply of electricity generated from alternative sources;
- Introduce a requirement for net metering and connection arrangements
between distributors, self-generators and small-scale distributed
generation to help remove barriers to self-generation and small-scale
generation that uses renewable technology;
- Raise the threshold for the environmental approvals exemption for clean
generation to 100 MW.
- Establish a Centre of Excellence for Electricity, jointly located at
Hamilton's McMaster University and The University of Waterloo.
"We must ensure that our children and grandchildren have a clean,
reliable and plentiful supply of energy," said Baird. "The actions that we are
taking today will help make that happen." |
