Changes and cancellations in Ontario energy policies and rules have disrupted several businesses and careers.

To be clear: I am not placing blame...just stating a fact.

Background

From the 1940's to the 1980's we had one Provincial Government. Since the mid-1980’s we have had many governments. During the last 30 years our Province's voters have ticked the boxes-for-change and brought a string of new and minority governments to power. The series of ruling-party-changes worked against good and sustainable energy policy.

The [government-controlled] energy sector has a long lead-lag cycle between political cause and constructed-project effect.

As a Province, Ontario continues to suffer the impact of major disruptions/cancellations in the energy sector.

As examples:

• We were to deregulate electricity in 2001...the quasi-deregulation lasted from May 2001 to November 2001, when it was replaced with even-more-quasi-deregulation. 
• We were to be off-coal by 2007. It is 2013 and we are still not fully off-coal. However, we do have some gas-generation plant,  wind-power, and high-electricity-rates issues to deal with. 

As another example – the breaking up of Ontario Hydro into OPG, Hydro One, Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation [i.e., ‘DebtCo’], etc. has created a series of cancellations. The government’s intent, in 2001, was to take Hydro One public. That plan was cancelled in 2002. In 2002 Hydro One’s commodity-selling subsidiary Ontario Hydro Energy was shut down…cancelling many contracts between that subsidiary and its suppliers.

OPG’s dominant position in the marketplace was to be removed…another cancellation…that did not happen. Generating the majority of Ontario's electricity, OPG controls the pricing of electricity in our Province. Now, that is not 100% true…the Province of Ontario itself has a say in the price we pay for electricity…to confirm this check the extent of ‘global adjustments’ on your monthly electricity bill. All of these aspects of more-than-quasi-deregulation of electricity and its brothers and sisters taking the form of solar-energy policy and wind-energy policy have had impact on the free market.

The Ontario Government controls our electricity costs and our tax costs. At the time Ontario Hydro was dismantled the electricity debt was $38 Billion. When we are talking electricity we are talking huge dollars. We do not know the current level of Ontario electricity debt because it has been obscured by the dismantling of Ontario Hydro.

The current ‘gas-generation plant issues’ are among the most-visible examples of the significant “cancellations” the energy sector has experienced during my career. I put the word “cancellations” in quotes because many will argue these are not cancellations…they are just changes. 

Ontario Energy Changes & Cancellations are a Consequence of Democracy

The energy changes & cancellations problem is largely one of communication.

Yes - energy policy changes and project cancellations increase either our electricity costs or our taxes or both.

Yes - energy changes and cancellations affect all of us in Ontario.

Again, that is not to say Ontario governments are to blame. Rather than pointing fingers of blame we should focus on accurate communication.

It is more accurate to say these cancellations are a consequence of democracy. If we accept that fact we can begin to take steps toward better places.

Voters elect governments. The extent of voters' fickleness determines the frequency of government change. The frequency of government change is directly proportional to the frequency of energy-policy change. And, energy-policy change creates energy-market changes and cancellations. And, energy-policy changes are very costly.

Yes - energy-policy changes are costly...but, blaming governments is a futile strategy.

Let's spend some time focusing on accurate communication.

There's an ugly voice-mail epidemic out there.

Let's put a stop to it.

Numerous people are leaving voice-mail messages that go something like this:

"Hello, you have reached ____________. I am not at my desk right now. If you leave a message, I will call you back as soon as I can."

Isn't that just bizarre!

So 20th Century!!!

Clearly, a huge proportion of these people are either too lazy to update their phone-message or they delight in tricking callers.

Or, perhaps they do not know how to present an accurate voice-mail message.

Here is an effort at helping...'A Voice-Mail Message for the 21st Century'. 

"As you have noticed, I have not picked up my phone. Perhaps, I am not at my desk. Or, perhaps, I am making good use of my Caller ID service. If you are not my boss or our CEO or somebody in between, chances are very high I will not call you back. If you do not hear from me in 2 business days, please do not attempt to contact me again. My goal here is to waste no time; not yours, not mine. In case you are still on the line...for greater certainty:

• If you report to me, I hope your message is only good news...if so, I may call you back.
• If you are a co-worker, well you know enough not to waste your time leaving a message.
• If you are family, send a text message on my unpublished phone line and I will get back to you in a similar way.
• If you have an amazing new, cannot-fail idea...call one of my competitors.
• If you do not know me...wake up...get with the 21st Century and get off my phone system."

Leaders can benefit from a sampling of mob history…

History Sample 1: Julius Caesar met with part of the ‘mob’ of his day, which at the time I believe they called the Senators.  I believe Caesar had called an impromptu meeting with his team of senators and other business people. He was their boss but that didn’t stop each and every one of the ‘mob’ from poking away at him right out in public until he could stand for it no more. This is an early and classic example of the ‘mob’ gaining strength in numbers.

History Sample 2: Napoleon Bonaparte saw them coming so he shot cannons at the 'mob' of his day...I believe he did this a couple of times…and a bunch of revolutionary things followed. As I understand it, and I admit this is a pretty scanty synopsis of it: Napoleon ordered some cannon shots, killed some of the ‘mob’, and over the next number of years a whole bunch of people got carried away and lost their heads.

History Sample 3: Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about the 'mob' of his day and revolutionary things didn’t happen. And, if the publishers’ records have it right, I believe this is because virtually all of the ‘mob’ of his day never bought any of his books and, even after some of them did, it took a few generations for anyone to understand a damn thing Nietzsche was talking about.

Now, that pretty much captures the important historical record about the ‘mob’ and its role in society during the last two millennia. Sure, we could have spent a lot of time talking about other important ‘mob’ celebrations: the various Huns getting down to their work, the crusades, the inquisitions, the witch hunts, the conquistadors, the holocausts, the genocide, etc., however, much like the events themselves – that would be overkill.

So, with enough ‘mob’ history under our belts, let’s focus on the present day ‘mob’ – the ‘mob’ of the New Millennium.

Roughly at the turning of the New Millennium, the 'mob' transformed and became a seriously-ingrained part of our North American culture....I mean, today, we just accept the ‘mob’ as it is regardless of its form. Today, we have totally open minds about the ‘mob’. Today, we forgive the quirks of the ‘mob’ and we ignore the ominous and embrace the ignorance of the ‘mob’. 

...to be continued...