Why is Ontario Afraid of Small (but Powerful) Electricity Solutions?
- Dick Bakker
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
On January 7, 2025, to the surprise of the renewable energy industry, Ontario announced a groundbreaking 12-year, $10.9 billion Energy Efficiency Program. This ambitious initiative promised to help citizens cut electricity costs through building retrofits (insulation, doors, windows, HVAC) and energy-saving technologies. Most exciting was a $10,000 grant for homeowners to invest in solar panels and battery storage—a move that could turn thousands of Ontarians into prosumers (both producers and consumers of electricity).
The benefits sounded huge:
✅ Lower electricity bills for homeowners
✅ Increased grid resiliency
✅ $23.1 billion in electricity system savings
✅ $12.2 billion in reduced costs for ratepayers
Finally, a win-win for both consumers and the grid, right?
But then, the fine print appeared. Section 3.(e) of the Participation Agreement states that grant recipients "agree not to participate in net-metering."
Wait, what?
This means homeowners who take the grant can never be compensated for excess energy they supply to the grid. Even if their solar panels produce more electricity than they use, they must give it away for free or waste it. Ontario benefits from cleaner, locally generated power—but homeowners are left footing the bill without fair compensation.
A Policy That Works Against Consumers—and the Grid
This restriction makes no sense. Solar + batteries can time-shift electricity, reducing peak demand, cutting grid congestion, and lowering the need for expensive gas-fired "peaker" plants. Ontario’s own Ultra-Low Overnight electricity rates already incentivize consumers to shift their energy use—yet this program blocks them from fully participating in the grid’s optimization.
The result? More people will choose to defect from the grid entirely, relying on personal energy islands rather than sharing power for the collective good. That’s the opposite of what Ontario needs.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Electricity Rebate continues to burn through $6+ billion in tax-payers dollars annually, subsidizing electricity for all—including high-income households. This encourages more consumption, which in turn justifies expanding big, costly nuclear and gas plants with massive transmission infrastructure.
Why Is Ontario So Afraid of Small Solutions?
Local solar and battery storage reduce transmission costs, enhance grid reliability, and empower consumers—all while aligning with the Ontario Energy Board’s directive to explore non-wires solutions. Yet, the government’s own policies contradict this directive, ensuring utilities stick to the “same old” costly infrastructure plans—funded by taxpayers and ratepayers alike.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
The province must remove the ban on net-metering for grant recipients, allowing small-scale energy solutions to work for both homeowners and the grid. Instead of forcing Ontarians to choose between financial fairness and sustainability, we should be embracing a future where citizens are truly empowered to generate, store, and share their own electricity.
If Ontario is serious about energy resilience and affordability, it’s time to stop blocking small-scale solutions—and start supporting them.
References
Program Participation Agreement, see Section 3.e the participant must “agree not to participate in net-metering with the eligible measure installed”
OEB directive on Non-Wires Solutions Guidelines For Electricity Distributors
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