The IESO's Response to draft Clean Electricity Regulations
November 16, 2023
The federal government’s proposed Clean Electricity Regulations (CER), released in August, outline steps to mandate the decarbonization of electricity systems across the country. The IESO has released its formal response to the draft CER, which provides comments aimed at supporting an orderly transformation of the electricity system.
The draft CER represents a starting point for discussions on a Canada-wide transition to a net-zero electricity sector. The IESO’s response, however, illustrates why the regulations as drafted are unachievable in Ontario by 2035 without risking the reliability of the electricity system, electrification of the broader economy and economic growth. It contains recommendations that reflect the scale of this transformation, as well as the complexity of managing Ontario’s grid while accounting for the uncertainties that the retirement of natural gas will bring.
The IESO is currently working to integrate emerging technologies such as storage and hybrid generation, and enable non-traditional resources to participate in the IESO markets. These efforts will help to ensure we have a diverse set of options to meet reliability, affordability, and policy needs into the future.
The IESO will be undertaking additional analysis in order to inform a CER with emissions target that are achievable while maintaining reliability.
A factsheet about the IESO’s response to the CER is available on the website.