TORONTO - Economic and policy problems plague Ontario's electricity sector, six years after the government's initial attempt at market liberalization in 2002, says a Commentary released yesterday by the C.D. Howe Institute. Remedies include market-based solutions, such as ending the central procurement function of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and making Ontario Power Generation's generating assets available to the private sector, says Michael Wyman, author of Power Failure: Addressing the Causes of Underinvestment, Inefficiency and Governance Problems in Ontario's Electricity Sector.

Wyman looks at how to fashion a cost-effective, reliable electricity system and to bridge the rapidly approaching gap between demand and supply. He examines the reasons for underinvestment in new generation among other problems, and makes recommendations for improvement.

The study, Power Failure: Addressing the Causes of Underinvestment, Inefficiency and Governance Problems in Ontario's Electricity Sector, is available at http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_261.pdf.