On Wednesday, August 28, 2019, the National Energy Board (NEB) became the Canada Energy Regulator (CER). For further information please visit our Implementing the Canadian Energy Regulator Act information page

Market Snapshot: Ontario’s electricity demand continues to decrease as market demands and efficiencies evolve

Connect/Contact Us Energy Information RSS Feed Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for Market Snapshot topics to snapshots@cer-rec.gc.ca

Release date: 2019-04-24

In 2017 Ontario’s peak electricity demandFootnote 1 decreased to 22 GW from 26 GW in 2005. Overall, Ontario’s electricity demand has decreased steadily between 2005 and 2017. Ontario’s total electricity demandFootnote 2 fell to 132 TW.h in 2017 from 157 TW.h in 2005 (a 16% drop). The reduction in demand is mainly from reduced industrial demand and increased energy efficiency.

Figure 1: Ontario hourly electricity demand

Source and Description Source: IESO Description: This chart shows Ontario’s hourly electricity demand in megawatts in 2005, 2010, 2016, and 2017. The horizontal axis shows each day in the month for every hour in a day (1 to 24). The lines represent the hourly demand for each year. Overall, this chart shows there is a steady decrease in demand from 2005 to 2017.

In a previous Market Snapshot, the NEB showed how Ontario's decrease in electricity demand is visible at each hour of the day. The snapshot highlighted that peak demand for the average day in 2016 was 9% lower than the peak demand for the average day in 2005.

Footnote 1 Peak Demand is the maximum demand during a specified period of time (hourly for the chart above). For example, in the chart, the maximum electricity demand (peak demand) in 2017 was 22 GW. Electricity demand generally peaks between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., when people return home and turn on TVs, lights, laundry machines, and other household appliances. As nighttime approaches, retail businesses close for the day, people get ready for bed, and electricity consumption slows again before repeating the cycle the following day. Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 Total electricity demand is the amount of energy provided over time. For example a 100 watt light bulb operating for 10 hours consumes 1 000 watthours or 1 kW.h. Return to footnote 2 referrer