Ontario minister leaves door open on some coal

Ontario minister leaves door open on some coal-fired capacity

Washington (Platts)--3Dec2004


The Ontario government has stated in no uncertain terms that, to cut air
pollution, it will shut down all 7,600 MW of the province's coal-fired fleet
by 2007. However, last week, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said that he would
consider keeping several coal-fired units on standby in case of a power
shortage.
Keeping the units as backup would ensure Ontario has a 20% power reserve at
all times and a diverse supply of electricity, he noted in local press
reports. An Energy Ministry spokeswoman confirmed Duncan's stated intentions
for Platts Coal Trader.
Meanwhile, critics lashed out that Duncan is reneging on his promise to shut
the plants, all operated by Ontario Power Generation. However, critics of
Duncan's shutdown plan  which would carry out the oft-stated policy of Ontario
Premier Dalton McGuinty  have long said the move is unrealistic because
replacement power supplies have not been secured. 
Together, the five plants  Lambton, Nanticoke, Lakeview, Thunder Bay and
Atikokan  produce about 25% of Ontario's power and are all located in the
heavily-populated southern Great Lakes region that borders the U.S. Dalton
also said he is investigating whether any of the coal-fired plants can be
converted to natural gas. Critics of that move of course say that natural gas
supplies are unreliable and expensive.
Shutting down the coal plants would take about 15 million tons of annual
business away from both western and eastern U.S. coal producers, but mostly
from Central Appalachian producers. Canadian producers, largely in western
provinces like Alberta, supply 1 million-2 million tons of coal to the OPG
plants.

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