Order in Council 52/2019

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, by and with the advice and concurrence of the Executive Council of Ontario, orders that:

Whereas Ontario considers it necessary to expand Ontario’s transmission system in order to maintain a reliable and cost-effective supply of electricity in the Province’s Northwest, increase operational flexibility, reduce congestion payments and remove a barrier to resource development in the region;

And whereas Ontario considers the construction, expansion, or re-enforcement of the electricity transmission network in the area between Wawa and Thunder Bay composed of the high-voltage circuits connecting Wawa TS with Lakehead TS (the East-West Tie Line Project) to be a priority;

And whereas on March 2, 2016, the Lieutenant Governor in Council made Order in Council 326/2016 declaring the construction of the East-West Tie Line Project, with an in-service date of 2020, to be a priority project;

And whereas the Independent Electricity System Operator’s most recent Needs Assessment, the December 2017 “Updated Assessment of the Need for the East-West Tie Expansion” and the July 2018 “Addendum to the 2017 Updated Assessment for the Need for the East-West Tie Expansion,” recommended the project as the lowest cost option for meeting system needs while noting that delays beyond a 2020 in-service date would introduce increased system costs and risks to reliability;

And whereas the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines wrote to the Ontario Energy Board on October 2, 2018 requesting the Board act expeditiously to issue a decision on Leave to Construct pursuant to s. 92(1) of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 (the “Act”) for the East-West Tie Line Project, and a final decision by the Board has not been issued to-date;

And whereas it is desirable to provide an increased level of regulatory certainty to the processes currently being undertaken by the Ontario Energy Board in regard to the East-West Tie Line Project, in a manner which is consistent with the Government’s authority under the Act;

And whereas the economic participation of Indigenous communities in energy projects is a policy objective of the Ontario Government and an increased level of regulatory certainty would support partnerships that have been entered into in respect of the East West Tie Line Project;

And whereas the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines has, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the authority to issue Directives pursuant to section 28.6.1 of the Act, which relate to the construction, expansion or re-enforcement of transmission systems;

Now therefore the Directive attached hereto is approved.

Minister's Directive