Ontarians will not see significant saving on their monthly electricity bill if the Green Energy Act is axed, according to a study by the Pembina Institute.
The report warns Ontarians that if future contracts for renewable energy were terminated in 2011, the average savings each month will be approximately $4.
The study, released Wednesday, looked at two scenarios: keeping the province's current long-term plan to generate electricity from renewable sources and scrapping the Green Energy Act in favour of expanding natural gas generating stations.
According to the lead author of the study, the results suggest it wouldn't be cheaper to do the latter.
Ontarians stand to lose more by axing the act because doing so would lead to higher costs in the long run, Tim Weis said in a statement released Wednesday.
The study, which forecasts the price of electricity over the next 20 years, suggests that investing in renewable energy will likely result in lower electricity bills within the next 15 years as natural gas becomes more expensive and the cost of renewable energy continues to fall.
"As the province's polluting coal plants are phased out and its nuclear plants reach the end of their lives, the decisions Ontarians make today will determine how reliable, sustainable and affordable the province's electricity system will be twenty years from now," Weis said.
The study warns, however, that prices will eventually go up regardless of either scenario.
Prices will peak around 2022, when the province's nuclear plants are scheduled to undergo shutdowns, Weis said.
"There is no way to completely avoid price increases over the next decade," he said.
According to the study, natural gas is a fossil fuel and therefore emits higher greenhouse gas emissions than renewable energy technologies.
The study indicates that although the price of natural gas is low and relatively stable now, it is expected to soar due to market uncertainties.
Some of those uncertainties are tied to plans by many American utility companies to switch from coal to natural gas in the future, Weis told CTV.ca on Wednesday.
Also many states, such as New Jersey, are considering putting a moratorium on natural gas drilling, Weis added, which will bump up costs for consumers.
