Insights
Electricity Insights
Samsung's Renewable Energy Deal: Assessing the Cost
February 2010
In January, the Ontario Government announced a deal with Samsung and Korea Electric Power designed to add 2,000 MW of wind and 500 MW of solar power, thereby tripling the province's current fleet of renewable generation. Aegent has undertaken an analysis of the cost of the deal. Read more >>
Green Power Math - It Adds Up to "Dilution"
November 2009
The Feed-in Tariff will make it tough for green power retailers to compete with the Ontario Power Authority to buy new green generation. For a retailer looking to provide some new and truly incremental green power, a lot of "dilution" is required to make the math work. Read more >>
End of RPP Eligibility Can Be a Good Thing
October 2009
November 1 is scheduled to be the end of RPP eligibility for "designated consumers". On balance, this is a good thing for these customers. For many, the delay in leaving the RPP will have cost them significantly over the past few years. Read more >>
Global Adjustment Costs: Changing the Allocation
September 2009
The Ontario Energy Board intends to change the allocation of Global Adjustment costs to raise the total cost of on-peak power as compared to off-peak power. The goal is to create an on-peak cost premium large enough to motivate changes to consumer behaviour. Read more >>
Global Adjustment: Change in Behaviour Has Implications for Hedging
August 2009
The nature of the contracts underlying the Global Adjustment is changing. The result is a change in the relationship between the Adjustment and spot prices. Decisions about hedging will become more complicated. Read more >>
Are Ontarians Subsidizing Exported Power?
June 2009
Ontario Power Authority contracts with base load generators can contribute to low spot prices. When spot prices are low, exports tend to be high. Subsidies to generators, who directly or indirectly drive exports, range from $3 - 8 million per month, per 100 MW of output. Read more >>
Coal Phase-Out: What's the Net impact on Costs?
May 2009
Generation supply contracts falling under the Global Adjustment will moderate the net impact of spot price increases arising from the phase-out of coal-fired generation. Over 70% of spot price changes will be dampened. Once coal is completely phased out, the net impact of a $6 to $13/MWh spot price increase will be $2 to $3/MWh on the bottom line. Read more >>
Coal Phase-Out: Its Impact on the Global Adjustment
April 2009
Natural gas-fired generation plants have the same attributes as coal-fired generation facilities and so will be counted on by the Ontario Power Authority to replace coal. The estimated impact of almost 6,500 MW of natural gas-fired generation replacing an equivalent amount fo coal-fired is an increase of approximately $6/MWh in the Global Adjustment. This is in addition to the effect of the phase-out on spot market prices. Read more >>
Negative Hourly Electricity Prices - Who Pays in the End?
April 2009
The Ontario electricity market has seen negative hourly spot prices before, but the notable feature of recent experience is how often they occurred from March 28 to April 17. Although persistent negative or otherwise low prices may appear to be a bonanza, they may lead to increased costs for consumers in the longer-term. Read more >>
Impact of Coal Phase-Out on Ontario Consumers
March 2009
Ontario Power Generation's almost 6,500 MW of coal-fired generation is scheduled to be phased out by the end of 2014. The impact on electricity consumers will be driven by a number of factors. The first is an upward pressure on spot prices as a result of coal-fired generation being replaced with natural gas-fired generation. Read more >>