The IESO’s own planning documents are the appropriate starting point. The May 20, 2026, presentation states on slide 24: “A large share of supply resources in the area is hydroelectric, which is energy-limited and cannot be relied on at full output in all hours.”1 Slide 30 states: “Hydroelectric supply resources are energy-limited and cannot be relied on to meet demand in all hours or conditions.” The planning engineer presenting the NOS plan confirmed verbally at the May 20 webinar that “These hydro facilities are largely river-based, so they have limited storage, meaning their output depends on water availability, so they cannot be relied on at all times.”
Against that backdrop, the Province’s April 9, 2025, media release describes the proposed Nine Mile Rapids and Grand Rapids generating stations, together up to 430 MW, as providing “affordable, reliable, and clean electricity” and “24/7 power for families and businesses,” and characterizes hydroelectricity as “a reliable source of emissions-free power.” ORA places both sets of statements on the formal planning and procurement record. The contradiction between what the IESO’s own planning staff have documented and what the Province and industry have announced to the public is not a minor discrepancy. It goes to the core of whether the plan’s generation assumptions are honest and forthright, and whether the long-term ratepayer commitments contemplated here rest on an accurate foundation.