Ontario plans to speed up new home connections to electricity grid

Ontario's energy minister says he will introduce legislation to make it easier for new homes and businesses to connect to the electricity grid. A worker walks past rows of power lines in Mississauga, Ont., on Monday, August 19, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Ontario's energy minister says he will introduce legislation to make it easier for new homes and businesses to connect to the electricity grid.

Stephen Lecce says that under the current rules, the process is slow and expensive, increasing costs for homebuyers and deterring home building.

Lecce says right now, a residential development of 200 homes would pay the full cost of building new infrastructure needed to connect to the grid, but under his planned legislation to reduce upfront capital costs the project would only have to pay for the electricity load the homes will use.

Lecce says the current system is making building difficult in new areas because no one wants to take on the risk and the extra cost.

The Progressive Conservative government has pledged to get 1.5 million homes built by 2031 and it has not yet met any of its annual targets toward that goal, though it came very close last year after it started counting long-term care beds.

Housing Minister Paul Calandra has pointed to external factors including high interest rates as hampering building, and developers have been pushing all levels of government to reduce or eliminate various fees they pay.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.