Oakville Council Workshop on Ontario's "Energy for Generations" Plan

Oakville council held a workshop on June 22, 2025 on Ontario's new "Energy for Generations" integrated energy plan and what it could mean for Oakville Enterprises Corporation and Oakville Hydro. Representatives from OEC outlined the province's policy direction, projected electricity demand growth, utility financing rules and Oakville Hydro's ability to meet future load.

Topics Discussed

1. PROVINCIAL ENERGY PLAN AND ELECTRICITY DEMAND

Council received a presentation on Ontario's integrated energy plan, released June 12, 2025, which is intended to guide electricity, natural gas and hydrogen policy over the next 25 years. David Brennan of Oakville Enterprises Corporation said, "This plan is intended to coordinate the electricity, natural gas, and hydrogen sectors to support economic growth while emphasizing affordability, security, reliability, and clean energy."

Rob Burton told council, "The ISO is forecasting that electricity consumption demand will increase 65% over the next 24 years. That's about 2.1% per year." Councillor Peter Longo added that while there has been "a lot of discussion" about data centres, "the actual number of data centers that are real right now is quite low." He said the IESO nevertheless expects "a significant increase in the number of data centers across the province."

2. OAKVILLE HYDRO CAPACITY AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Council heard that additional electricity distribution assets will be needed as demand grows, but Oakville Hydro said it does not currently face financing problems in meeting projected load. Burton said, "Oakville Hydro has no financing issues in order to meet the the 25-y year load forecast that uh at at a macro level that the ISO has put forward."

The presentation said Oakville Hydro currently has about 100 megawatts of unused capacity, roughly 25 per cent above current peak load, which staff said should support growth into the mid-to-late 2030s. Officials also said capacity could be expanded at existing stations before a new station would be needed.

3. UTILITY OWNERSHIP, TAX RULES AND ACCESS TO CAPITAL

A substantial part of the workshop focused on the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes regime and the limits it places on municipal utilities raising outside equity. Burton said the current structure dates back to electricity-market restructuring in the 1990s: "So the whole idea of of this um reorganization was to create competition in the market. So bringing in the fortises and the or the transas and so forth. And if you had entities that were tax exempt, which municipal-owned entities like uh Oakville Hydro are, then it wouldn't be a level playing field. So they had to create some mechanism and the mechanism was payment in le of taxes."

Council heard that utilities up to 10 per cent municipally owned remain tax-exempt, but that threshold constrains private investment. Burton also noted that while some provincial tax relief has been extended, "the depreciation recovery or recapture is still applicable."

An unidentified speaker added that smaller local distribution companies can face financing disadvantages, noting that "the small LDC's quite frankly are at a disadvantage and that's when you have to start talking about merger or sale but municipal equity injection."

4. GOVERNANCE, CONSOLIDATION AND PULSE PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS

Council discussed recommendations from the provincial PULSE panel, which have been submitted to the province but were described as not yet public. The presentation said the panel did not recommend mandatory amalgamation of local distribution companies, instead focusing on measures to support growth and flexibility.

The workshop also reviewed possible governance changes, including skill-based boards, public reporting of board qualifications, limits on the number of municipal representatives on boards and faster Ontario Energy Board review timelines for mergers and acquisitions. Council heard that Ontario had more than 300 municipal electricity utilities in 1995 and now has 57 local distribution companies.

5. CONSERVATION, DATA CENTRES AND RESIDENTIAL SOLAR

Council members asked about conservation, data-centre demand and small-scale residential generation. Longo said that despite interest in data centres, current confirmed projects remain limited, though provincial forecasts anticipate growth over time.

Councillor Ray Chisholm asked whether the town or utility was hearing more about small residential solar opportunities. He said the technology "is now anywhere I read from about 400 bucks to $2,000" and "it can save you up to 60 bucks a month on your hydro bills." He asked whether residents seeking to install such systems in Oakville would need to work through Oakville Hydro.

Motions

• Workshop item received by council. The supplied notes do not identify a numbered motion beyond council proceeding without objection.

Attendees

Present councillors mentioned in the supplied material: - Councillor Peter Longo - Councillor Ray Chisholm - Mayor Rob Burton

Absent: - Councillor Allan Elgar

Presenting to council: - David Brennan, Oakville Enterprises Corporation - Harold Holloway, Board member