Ontario Releases Energy for Generations, the Province’s Inaugural Integrated Energy Plan

On June 12, 2025, Ontario released Energy for Generations, its inaugural integrated energy plan that aims to establish a coordinated energy (electricity and natural gas) strategy to ensure access to affordable, secure, reliable and clean energy and drive long-term prosperity (the Plan).

Background

The Plan was published in response to Ontario’s Affordable Energy Future: The Pressing Case for More Power released in October 2024. Ontario committed to releasing this Plan to coordinate the entire energy sector to help power a clean and growing economy and meet Ontario’s growing electricity demands, which are expected to increase by 75% over the next 25 years.

Key Takeaways 

1. Integrating Energy Planning

Starting in 2025, Ontario has committed to launching a regular five-year cycle of integrated energy planning to develop a single, integrated plan for all energy needs.

The Plan summarizes Ontario’s commitment to certain initiatives that support streamlined investment in the energy sector, including directing the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to participate in an ongoing forum supporting information on integrated energy planning and report back to the Ministry by December 31, 2025, on, among other things, planned changes to the processes for regional and bulk system electricity planning.

The OEB is also directed to report back to the Ministry by December 31, 2025, on opportunities to streamline OEB-led processes, transmitter connection processes and on the reasonableness and timeliness of Local Distribution Company (LDC) procedures to connect electric vehicle customers.

The IESO is similarly required to report back to the Ministry by December 31, 2025, on, among other things, opportunities to streamline energy-related procurement processes and enhance the transparency of the IESO’s connection process.

2. Affordable, Secure, Reliable and Clean Electricity

The Plan states that nuclear energy will continue to serve as the backbone of the province’s electricity system to meet the province’s growing electricity demands. The commitment involves supporting nuclear refurbishments at Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Darlington and Pickering power plants, as well as the development and deployment of the first grid-scale small modular reactor in the G7 at the Darlington nuclear plant.

Ontario also identifies new large-scale nuclear energy projects, including OPG’s nuclear generation at Port Hope (Wesleyville) and the existing Bruce Nuclear site.

The Plan contains Ontario’s commitment to expanding and refurbishing the province’s existing hydroelectric fleet, including directing the IESO to launch the Northern Hydro Program by March 31, 2026, to re-contract 26 hydroelectric facilities. Ontario also committed to advancing pre-development work for the proposed Ontario Pumped Storage Project, which will provide up to 1,000 MW of electricity storage and a series of competitive procurements for new electricity generation and storage.

The Plan also briefly discusses opportunities for leveraging Ontario’s nuclear expertise and medical isotope production in new global markets.

3. Important Role of Natural Gas and Leveraging Other Energy Resources

Introducing the government’s Natural Gas Policy Statement, the Plan states that natural gas is a critical component of Ontario’s future energy mix. The Plan states that Ontario will continue to support natural gas usage while also pursuing options to lower costs and reduce emissions and will create more alignment between natural gas and electricity policies through its new natural gas connection policy.

The Plan also recognizes hydrogen and carbon capture and storage as resources that can complement other fuels and technologies and outlines some of Ontario’s initiatives, including a new C$30-million round of funding for end-use applications for hydrogen, such as transportation and heavy industry, and the proposed Geologic Carbon Storage Act to support innovation and investment in carbon capture and storage.

The Plan notes that Ontario supports an east-west energy corridor that will expand the province’s ability to access Western Canadian oil and gas while simultaneously reducing reliance on imports from the United States. In advocating for the development of national energy corridors, Ontario calls on the federal government to repeal the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), articulating that the IAA creates delays and uncertainty that prohibit investment and development.

To meet the province’s growing energy demands, the Plan also outlines the use of other energy resources, such as petroleum products, propane, district energy and renewable fuels. In the Plan, Ontario commits to advancing nationally integrated energy corridors that include — aside from pipelines — rail lines, electricity transmission infrastructure and other critical assets, including a new deep-sea port on James Bay to export critical minerals, fuels and other resources to Europe and other global markets.

4. Building More Electricity Transmission

The Plan outlines Ontario’s approach to supporting the expansion and modernization of the province’s transmission system, including advancing the development of new transmission lines and identifying and protecting lands that may be needed for future transmission infrastructure across Ontario.

To streamline development, Ontario has exempted certain transmission lines from obtaining Leave to Construct from the OEB and advanced the Class Environmental Assessment Process (2024) to reduce development timelines by one to two years for large projects.

The Plan also notes that IESO is developing a competitive Transmitter Selection Framework and directs the IESO to launch a Transmitter Registry by August 15, 2025, to increase the efficiency of competitive procurements.

5. Ontario’s Future Electricity Grid

The Plan highlights that Ontario’s 59 LDCs need to strengthen their infrastructure, adopt new technologies and deliver services more efficiently and affordably to meet Ontario’s growing electricity demands, including grid modernization, responding more quickly to storms and major events and improving cybersecurity.

To address this challenge, Ontario is developing new regulations that will reduce the upfront capital costs associated with connecting to distribution and transmission infrastructure. The Ministry has also directed the IESO, by June 30, 2026, to identify recommendations for overall Distributed Energy Resource (DER) regulatory and compensation frameworks and to identify the responsible parties to implement DER valuation recommendations and explore opportunities for electricity distributor-led DER procurements.

6. Energy Efficiency

Ontario announced a C$10.9-billion investment in energy efficiency programs over the next 12 years to reduce energy consumption and peak demand. This investment also supports initiatives to improve natural gas energy efficiency and to enhance access to energy data and efficiency standards.

7. Indigenous Leadership and Partnership

The Plan highlights how Ontario is supporting Indigenous leadership through equity partnerships, energy planning and project development. As one example, Ontario increased its funding for the IESO’s Indigenous Energy Support Program to C$15-million annually. Ontario also introduced enhancements to the Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program through the 2025 Ontario Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario, including expanding program eligibility, increasing the loan guarantees from C$1-billion to C$3-billion and creating a single-entry point for Indigenous partners to access financing for infrastructure projects.

The Plan also includes examples of certain competitive government procurements with mandatory Indigenous participation, including the IESO’s LT1 procurement for battery storage.

8. Ontario as a Global Energy Superpower

The Plan’s final chapter summarizes Ontario’s electricity export opportunities and the province’s strategy to reach new electricity export agreements with neighbouring provinces and U.S. states.

Looking Ahead

Ontario’s integrated energy plan reflects a commitment in the province to facilitating investment and enhancing growth in an array of energy initiatives. These actions aim to help Ontario build a more resilient and self-reliant economy. Stakeholders should familiarize themselves with the Plan, specifically its initiatives for stabilizing investment opportunities within the province.

Our team is closely monitoring developments of this Plan and will provide updates when more details are available.

For more information, please contact the authors or any other member of our Power or Energy Regulatory groups.