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On May 14, 2009, the Government of Ontario passed the Green Energy and Green Economy Act (GEGEA). The GEGEA enacts the Green Energy Act and amends over 16 other Acts. At the time of writing, none of the amendments discussed in this paper have been proclaimed in force. The stated purpose of the GEGEA is to “green” Ontario’s energy sector through increased energy conservation and renewable energy generation.

The GEGEA will have important implications for municipalities across the province, as governing bodies, electricity generators and electricity consumers. The GEGEA removes municipal planning powers over the development of renewable energy generation facilities, requires municipalities to prepare and implement conservation and demand management (CDM) plans and permits municipalities to generate up to 10MW of renewable electricity.

This paper will consider each of these changes and the implications of the GEGEA for local distribution companies (LDCs), largely owned by municipalities.

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