Power plant advocates push agenda to Kathleen Wynne

Thunder Bay officials want to be among the first to reach out to Ontario's next premier.

They're sending a letter to Kathleen Wynne that outlines the reasons the natural gas conversion at the city's power plant should be resumed.

Iain Angus, co-chair of the city's energy task force, said he wants Wynne to know the Ontario Power Authority underestimates the amount of energy the northwest requires.

"If we don't have adequate power in place when it's needed, the investment will go elsewhere," he said.

"If we don't have a chance to take advantage of the minerals in the ground and make a livelihood for a lot of people and create wealth for Ontario it would be a real shame."

'Different view'

As co-chair of Thunder Bays Common Voice Energy Task Force, Angus gave a presentation to the city's Inter-Governmental Liaison Committee Monday.The presentation was part ofa follow-up to a meeting that happened between the Mister of Energy and Ontario Power Authority officials on Jan. 17.

"The minister, OPA and the IESO suspended [the conversion] back in November and that raised some alarm bells for us," Angus said.

"[The OPA] have a different view of whether these mines are going to come on stream or not ... and we're very confident that these mines will come on stream, and that's what we need to do is convince the OPA that these are real."

In a press release issued Monday, Angus statedmembers of the Energy Task Forceare concerned that, as of January 2015 and beyond, there will not be enough power to run the northwest, which will result in industry shutdown, brownouts and blackouts.

"The province needs to find an alternative and dedicated supply of power for the Northwest starting Jan. 1, 2015," Angus said.