Providing the Balance of Power
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Providing the Balance of Power. Ontario Hydro's Plan to Serve Customers' Electricity Needs" is a massive 4-volume 1989 study to the year 2014 by Ontario Hydro, the supplier of electric power for the province of Ontario, Canada. The general public of Ontario was provided with copies of this report free of charge, and requested for feedback.
[edit] Overview
The report explains why Ontario needs an electricity plan. It analyzes the people using electricity, a flexible system for serving customers, priority resources to meet needs, choosing the best major supply options, finding a balanced solution, and it adds a glossary about electricity.
[edit] Demand/Supply Plan Report
This report, in colour, with tables and graphs, goes into details on the amount of electricity that will be expected to be demanded from the electricity supply system every year until 2014, and shows how much additional generating capacity will have to be provided to meet that demand. For example on page 3-15 is a table showing that, as an estimate, there is only a 10% probability that less than 28.6 gigawatts (GW) will be needed as peak in 2005, 29.0 GW in 2006, 29.6 GW in 2007, ... and 33.5 GW in 2014. The report goes into great details about what the needs are, defines resources, and examines various alternative plans (How much nuclear? Fossil fuel? Minimum pollution? Least expensive? Matters of politics? etc.) to ensure sufficient electricity will be available when it will be needed in Ontario, considering not only the additional demand, but also the listed expected retirements before 2015 of older generating facilities.
Appendix A is about strategy (March 1989), Appendix B provides a list of references, and Appendix C is a glossary, including commonly used acronyms.
[edit] Actual Peak Demand and prices up to July 15, 2005
The record, so far, was 26,170 megawatts (MW). Ontario had to purchase 3400 megawatts at up to seven times the normal rate, according to Metro of July 19 quoting the Torstar News Service, to meet the peak demand. Unfunded electricity debt so far is $20.6 billion, with Ontario's household consumers being charged only 5 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 750 kilowatt hours, and only 5.8 cents for the remainder. The price of imported power had risen to nearly 39 cents a kilowatt hour, while it normally is in the 5 to 10 cent range.
