Overview

The Electrification and Energy Transition Panel was established as a short-term advisory body to help Ontario’s economy prepare for electrification and the energy transition.

The panel advised the government on high-value short, medium and long-term opportunities in the energy sector. This included opportunities to:

  • help enable investment and job creation in Ontario by keeping energy rates low
  • create a more predictable and competitive investment environment
  • build on the government’s work to meet energy needs and ensure a reliable, affordable and clean electricity supply
  • strengthen Ontario’s long-term energy planning process by better coordinating the fuels and the electricity sectors

Final Report

The panel delivered its final report to the Ministry of Energy in December 2023.

Read Ontario’s Clean Energy Opportunity: Report of the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel to learn about the panel’s recommendations to help Ontario prepare for electrification and the energy transition.

Energy transition and electrification themes

The panel explored five key themes related to the energy transition and electrification through briefings and engagement with:

  • the Ministry of Energy
  • sector agencies including the Independent Electricity System Operator and the Ontario Energy Board
  • Indigenous partners and Indigenous energy organizations
  • Other jurisdictions, including municipalities and the federal government
  • Energy organizations and stakeholders in adjacent sectors, including transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and finance
  • other stakeholders and interested organizations

These themes informed the discussion questions for future engagements and guided the recommendations in the panel’s final report.

  1. Energy Planning — Opportunities to improve long-term, integrated energy planning between the electricity and fuels sectors. We are exploring topics such as roles and responsibilities for the province/energy agencies, and options to optimize energy demand and decarbonize future energy supply systems.
  2. Governance and Accountability — Opportunities and challenges to improve energy sector governance. We are exploring topics such as potential changes to agency mandates or regulatory frameworks, and new performance metrics for the province/energy agencies that could support a successful transition.
  3. Technologies — Opportunities to improve frameworks, regulatory or otherwise, and address barriers to enable core energy technologies and fuel types in energy and other sectors such as buildings/housing, transportation, industry and agriculture. We are exploring topics such as how to address barriers to low-carbon fuels, distributed energy resources and hybrid-heating solutions.
  4. Community and Customer Perspectives, Affordability and Energy Sector Objectives — Opportunities to balance energy system costs, energy reliability and climate objectives while considering the needs and interests of Indigenous communities, rights-holders and the general public. We will be exploring citizen and customer perspectives that should be considered through the energy transition.
  5. Facilitating Economic Growth — Opportunities to advance economic development as it relates to the energy sector and the transition. We are considering opportunities to improve Ontario’s participation in green global supply chains and foster cross-sector collaboration in energy-intensive sectors, such as mining, steel and automotive sectors, while maintaining a cost-effective and low-carbon electricity supply.

Public engagement

The panel invited all stakeholders, Indigenous partners, and the interested public to provide written advice within the five key themes and the panel’s scope as outlined above. The open call for written feedback closed on June 30, 2023.

Findings from engagements guided recommendations in the panel’s final report.

The What We Heard Report provides a summary of engagement feedback. 

Panel members

Mr. David J. Collie, FCMA, FCPA, C.Dir., MBA

David Collie is the past President and CEO of the Electrical Safety Authority of Ontario (ESA). Prior to ESA, he held several executive positions in the energy sector, encompassing both electric and natural gas distribution systems, including Burlington Hydro, Hydro One and Enbridge (formerly Union Gas).

David is a faculty member of the Directors College of Canada and their Energy Executive-in-Residence. He is a frequent speaker on the topics of energy transition, grid innovation and modern regulatory practices and a guest faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School’s executive program on strategic regulatory oversight. David is the past Chair of Plug‘n Drive and the Electricity Distributors Association as well as past Vice Chair of the Energy Council of Canada.

He was a founding member of the Ontario Smart Grid Forum and a member of the Energy Transformation Network of Ontario. Professionally, David is a Chartered Professional Accountant (“Fellow”) and a Chartered Director.

Professor Monica Gattinger, PhD

Professor Gattinger is Director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy, Full Professor at the School of Political Studies and Founding Chair of Positive Energy at the University of Ottawa where she has worked for 20 years.

She is a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, board member of the Clean Resource Innovation Network, and serves on advisory committees for the Institute on Governance, the National Research Council Canada, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, the Ontario Energy Board, the Ottawa Science Policy Network and the University of Calgary.

Dr. Gattinger received the 2020 Clean50 Award for her thought leadership in the energy sector.

Chief Emerita Emily Whetung, JD

Chief Emerita Whetung grew up in Curve Lake First Nation. She pursued a Bachelor of Arts at Trent University and a Juris Doctor at Osgoode Hall Law School after which she practiced in real estate law, a field she has worked in for over a decade.

Chief Whetung was elected Chief of Curve Lake First Nation from 2019–2022. She is passionate about the rights of First Nations people, including protecting the environment for future generations and protection of treaty rights.

She uses her expertise and knowledge to ensure that the voices of Indigenous people are heard and respected and for finding ways to ensure economic advancements occur in sustainable manners and building healthy relationships between First Nations and Canadians.

Chief Emerita Whetung was appointed to the Panel on November 17, 2022, and stepped down on July 23, 2023, due to other professional commitments.

Cost-effective energy pathways study

To support the work of the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel and provide key inputs into long-term energy planning for the province, the government commissioned an independent cost-effective energy pathways study to understand how Ontario’s energy sector can support electrification and the energy transition.

Together, the Panel and the pathways study will help the government make strategic decisions for the energy system’s future.

Contact

You can reach the panel by email at energypanel@ontario.ca.