Ontario needs more electricity, more energy infrastructure, and more affordable ways for households and businesses to manage their energy costs. Practical, modern solutions are available, yet many Ontarians still face unnecessary administrative barriers when trying to install solar panels, connect batteries, or build EV charging infrastructure. Too often, the biggest obstacle isn’t technology – it’s red tape.
Today, an Ontarian who wants to generate their own electricity or invest in clean energy can encounter a patchwork of regulations, permitting requirements, fees, and approval processes that add costs, create uncertainty, and slow progress. Many of these rules were developed for an energy system that looked very different from the one we’re building today. These outdated rules and policies are at every order of government, as an example Toronto just went through an exercise of updating rules, some of which existed prior to amalgamation and were still on the books preventing heat pumps from being installed. The result was a win-win for residents and the City.
Similar to our process with the City of Toronto, my colleagues and I met with homeowners, businesses, municipalities, utilities, and clean energy developers to identify provincial-level barriers. We regularly encountered rules and processes creating unnecessary barriers for both industry and consumers. That’s why we’ve released a new policy brief, Red Tape Reduction Opportunities for the Province of Ontario. The practical guide identifies 11 reforms that would make it easier to deploy clean energy technologies across the province while supporting affordability, reliability, and economic growth.
Importantly, these are not complex or long-term structural reforms. Most can be implemented through targeted changes by the Ontario government, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), and provincial ministries. In many cases, the tools to act already exist.
The opportunity is significant. As electricity demand grows, Ontario will need every cost-effective clean energy resource available. Removing unnecessary barriers can help households, businesses, utilities, and governments move faster.
At the same time, Ontario is becoming increasingly reliant on imported natural gas via the U.S. to meet this growing electricity demand. Making it easier for households, businesses, and communities to generate, store, and manage their own energy can strengthen Ontario’s energy security while reducing pressure on the grid.
Making solar easier and more predictable
Consider solar energy: homeowners looking to install solar can face connection fees ranging from a few hundred dollars to more than $2,000 depending on their local utility. Approval processes can also vary significantly, making costs and timelines difficult to predict and discouraging investment. Predictable fees, clearer timelines, and transparent decision-making would give solar-curious homeowners greater certainty and reduce administrative burden. Whether you can install solar on your roof shouldn’t be determined by if you can understand your utility’s application process, or the fees associated with that application.
Updating rules to reflect today’s technology
Similarly, Ontario’s current rules limit the size of projects that qualify for faster, streamlined microgeneration approvals. While the province recently increased its threshold from 10 kW to 12 kW, other provinces have gone much further. British Columbia and Manitoba allow projects up to 100 kW, while Alberta’s threshold reaches 150 kW for similarly sized projects. Reviewing and modernizing Ontario’s threshold would help ensure its rules reflect how today’s technologies are actually being deployed.
Accelerating access to EV charging
EV charging infrastructure faces similar challenges. Through our work on public EV charging planning, TAF regularly hears from charging providers, businesses, and property owners about long and inconsistent permitting timelines. In some cases, approvals have taken more than 30 months. Questions as simple as how charging equipment should be classified within a zoning bylaw can create unnecessary delays and uncertainty. Streamlining approvals and providing clear and consistent guidance to municipalities would make it faster and easier to build the charging network Ontarians need.
Unlocking local renewable energy
Other barriers are even more straightforward to address. A provincial setback requirement for ground-mounted solar can make otherwise viable projects impossible on many properties. Ontario also continues to restrict community net metering, limiting opportunities for communities to share the benefits of locally generated renewable energy.
Individually, these may seem like small regulatory issues. Together, they create friction throughout the clean energy economy, slowing investment, delaying projects, and limiting consumer choice.
The good news is that many of these challenges can be addressed through straightforward regulatory and legislative changes. Ontario does not need new technologies or major spending commitments to get started. In many cases, it simply needs to modernize rules that no longer reflect today’s energy system. These changes will help make energy more accessible and affordable at a time when Ontario is increasingly in need of more electricity that is based here at home and not reliant on energy coming from south of the border.
TAF’s new policy primer outlines 11 specific actions for the Ontario government, the OEB, and provincial ministries to help accelerate clean energy deployment while improving affordability, reliability, and consumer choice.
If you have further ideas or solutions to these barriers, or come across new ones, we’d love to hear from you. Reach us at policy@taf.ca.
Leave a Reply