November 4, 2014

Mr. Bob Delaney
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy
900 Bay Street
Fourth Floor, Hearst Block
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2E1

Dear Mr. Delaney:

It is an honour and a pleasure to have you as my Parliamentary Assistant. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you back to the Ministry of Energy and to outline some of the important work that lies ahead of us.

As you know, our government has a plan to invest in the talent and skills of our people, build modern infrastructure, support a dynamic and innovative business climate, and provide better retirement security to people across the province. At the heart of this plan are partnerships with businesses, people and communities, which will help our government grow the economy, create jobs and implement solutions that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

This balanced and comprehensive plan is underpinned by a focus on fiscal prudence. The mandate letter I received last month from Premier Wynne reinforced our government’s commitment to balance the budget by 2017-18 and to pursue increased openness, accountability and modernization.

Parliamentary Assistants play a key role in delivering these priorities and have a responsibility to put our government’s plan into action.

The Ministry of Energy is working hard to deliver on our government’s top energy priority — providing Ontarians with a clean, reliable and affordable supply of electricity. Our key priority is to continue implementing the 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP). This includes remaining committed to its Conservation First agenda by encouraging innovative programs for consumers and continuing to show leadership in implementing energy efficiency performance standards for appliances and products.

As Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy, working under the direction of the Minister, your responsibilities include:

Engaging Energy Stakeholders and Consumers

  • Helping to improve Ontarians’ awareness and understanding of how the energy system works, and the value it provides to individuals and communities, through ministry-led initiatives, energy literacy partnerships and stakeholder engagement. Public engagement and consultation is a key feature to how this government does business, and a public that understands the energy sector and how it affects them can more actively participate in open policy discussions.
  • Providing support on project-related concerns that are brought forward by affected landowners, Members of Provincial Parliament, or local officials by ensuring that these important stakeholders understand the opportunities to participate in the established regulatory approval process.

Mitigating Electricity Prices for Residential Consumers

  • Continuing to help Ontarians by addressing the challenges they face from increasing electricity costs. You will support efforts to look for savings and efficiencies that will help keep electricity costs affordable for residential consumers. These efforts include developing and implementing the Ontario Electricity Support Program to help make electricity more affordable for low-income families and working with the Ministry of Finance to deliver on our commitment to remove the Debt Retirement Charge from residential electricity bills after December 31, 2015.

Mitigating Electricity Prices for Businesses

  • Supporting our efforts to meet our commitment in the LTEP to ensure that electricity rate mitigation programs help support a dynamic and innovative climate for business to thrive, grow and create jobs. Our rate mitigation initiatives include helping to reduce energy costs for small business owners by implementing a five-point business energy savings plan, working with the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to implement a new stream of the Industrial Electricity Incentive program and proceeding with expansion of the Industrial Conservation Initiative. Together, these initiatives will support Ontario’s businesses by helping them address rising energy costs.

 Supporting the Oversight of Darlington Refurbishment

  • Working with Ontario Power Generation and the oversight advisors to deliver on the LTEP commitments to subject nuclear refurbishment to the strictest possible oversight to ensure safety, reliable supply and value for ratepayers.

Fostering Business Opportunities

  • Promoting a strong business environment to enable the potential expansion of electricity Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) into new business lines inside and outside Ontario. You will minimize barriers, wherever possible, to enable electricity GBEs to identify and leverage new revenue streams for the benefit of the province.
  • Supporting the ongoing development and export of Ontario’s specialty expertise in areas such as nuclear operation and refurbishments, smart grid implementation, renewable energy development, and biomass conversion. You will work with your counterparts in the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade and the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure to advance this work.

Improving the Process to Site Large Energy Infrastructure

  • Continuing to work with the OPA and the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to complete the implementation of the 18 recommendations in their report, Engaging Local Communities in Ontario’s Electricity Planning Continuum. In May 2013, I asked the OPA and IESO to work together to develop recommendations to improve how large energy infrastructure projects are sited, and to include local voices in the planning and siting process. The government has adopted the recommendations of their report, which will bring communities to the table, link local and provincial planning and ensure that large energy infrastructure is located in the right place from the start. The OPA and IESO have made significant progress on implementing the recommendations, and I encourage you to continue to work with these agencies to complete the implementation of the remaining recommendations.

I am confident that together, working in collaboration with our partners in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, we can deliver on our commitment to the people we are privileged to represent and serve. I look forward to working with you to deliver our ministry’s mandate, build Ontario up — and help achieve a brighter future for every person in this province.

Sincerely,

Bob Chiarelli signature

The Honourable Bob Chiarelli
Minister of Energy