Electricity Planning for GTA East

The GTA East region includes the municipalities of Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa and parts of Clarington within Durham Region as well as the southern parts of Scugog and Uxbridge. Previous electricity plans in the region have resulted in new transmission infrastructure, such as new transmission stations, that are enabling new customers to connect to the grid and support economic growth and development.

Now, the region is growing even faster, with new and updated plans for municipal growth, community energy projects, economic development and electrification.

Unique in the GTA, the region serves a substantial portion of the province's electricity demand in addition to its own needs with two nuclear facilities in the area – Pickering and Darlington generation stations that are undergoing refurbishments and expansion. A new small nuclear reactor is under construction at Darlington with another three units under consideration. Together, these reactors would produce more than enough electricity to power the city of Oshawa.

In terms of planning for growing electricity demand in GTA East, the IESO looks at the unique needs of the region and considers a range of options and resources to keep the lights on. Residential growth is primarily driven by urban intensification in Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, and northern Pickering. Industrial customer demand has also increased in recent years, through a combination of new facilities and electrification of existing ones.

The fast pace of growth in GTA East could require focused investment in transmission infrastructure. It could also require targeted Save on Energy conservation programs to meet the unique needs the area, or small-scale generation or battery facilities connected to local electricity networks. With input from stakeholders and Indigenous communities, the IESO is launching this integrated planning process to determine which options will best meet these growing needs.

The IESO is leading a technical working group consisting of Hydro One Networks Inc., Elexicon Energy Inc., Hydro One Distribution and Oshawa Power Utilities Corp., to understand the needs in the area and the solutions to best meet those unique needs. Throughout the development of the plan, gathering community input and feedback will be key to understand how the region is growing and considered as part of the plan's recommended solutions.

While major generators based in GTA East such as Darlington Nuclear serve the entire province, more transmission infrastructure may be needed to deliver more of that power to local communities.