Ontario's Energy Sector
The Government of Ontario, through the Minister of Energy, sets the legal and policy framework – passing legislation and regulations – that govern the energy sector.
The Ontario Energy Board implements and oversees this framework, ensuring that market participants in the natural gas and electricity sectors comply with their regulatory obligations. Our objectives include protecting the interests of consumers and promoting a viable and efficient energy sector.
The Electricity Sector
Ontario’s current electricity mix:
Generators: Generators produce the electricity that we use. Generation is the first step in the process to provide electricity to consumers.
Transmitters: Once generated, electricity travels across Ontario from generating plants over high-voltage transmission lines to local transformers that then reduce the voltage level, making it suitable for local distribution.
Utilities (Distributors): After traveling over the high-voltage transmission lines and through transformers, electricity then travels over low-voltage distribution lines, which are owned by local utilities, to homes and offices.
Retailers: Electricity is always delivered to your home by your local utility, which owns the distribution lines; however, you can choose how you buy the electricity itself. You can choose to do nothing, in which case you will automatically purchase the electricity from your local utility. Or you can choose to enter into a contract with an electricity retailer. There are a number of such retailers currently competing to sell power to residential consumers across Ontario.
The Ontario Power Authority (OPA): The agency responsible for ensuring an adequate, long-term supply of electricity in Ontario. A key objective of the OPA is to forecast electricity demand and the adequacy and reliability of electricity resources for Ontario for the medium and long-term.
The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO): The IESO acts as a system controller at the heart of Ontario's power system, connecting all participants - generators that produce electricity, transmitters that send it across the province, retailers that buy and sell it, industries and businesses that use it in large quantities and local utilities that deliver it to people's homes.
The Natural Gas Sector
Producers: Firms involved in exploration, production and processing. These firms are also involved in petroleum production. Petroleum and gas always occur together, so it is natural for these firms to be involved in both commodities.
Pipelines and storage companies: A handful of firms are involved in gas storage and pipeline transmission. Natural gas distributors commonly own storage facilities as well, which are used to reduce the costs of natural gas delivery during the peak winter demand periods.
Utilities (Distributors): Utilities deliver natural gas to customers.
Natural Gas Marketers: Natural gas is always delivered to your home by your local utility, which owns the delivery lines; however, you can choose how you buy the natural gas itself. You can choose to do nothing, in which case you will automatically purchase the natural gas from your local utility. Or you can choose to enter into a contract with a natural gas marketer. There are a number of such marketers currently competing to sell natural gas to consumers across Ontario.
Page last updated 2011-01-28
