TORONTO — Ontario has signed a contract to import oil- and gas-fired electricity from New York state through the winter, weeks after Premier Doug Ford threatened to cut the province’s power exports to the United States.The Independent Electricity System Operator said the 600-megawatt deal with Alpha Generation begins Nov. 1 and will cover “facility maintenance.” The Pickering nuclear plant shut down in September for a multi-year refurbishment. The contract partially replaces that emissions-free output with power from U.S. fossil-fuel plants, including the Oswego oil-fired station north of Syracuse.The IESO announcement did not disclose a price. The deal follows Ford’s earlier warning that Ontario could halt electricity exports south as leverage in the trade dispute with the Trump administration. Ontario had also imposed a 25% surcharge on U.S. imports of its power earlier this year.The province’s grid operator has described the purchase as short-term capacity to meet reliability needs while nuclear units are offline. Critics note that the imported power is carbon-intensive compared with the nuclear generation it replaces.Ford has repeatedly framed energy as a point of leverage with the United States. In his Empire Club speech on Wednesday he said Canada’s relationship with its largest trading partner has changed permanently and that Ontario must protect its industrial base.The IESO has also raised targets for its next capacity auction after the most recent auction failed to secure enough winter capacity at record prices. Broader nuclear expansions at Darlington, Bruce, and Pickering remain part of the province’s long-term plan.
