Over the past several weeks Ontarians have been regularly advised by the Independent Electricity Service Operator (IESO) that electricity supplies are not sufficient to keep up with demand, and they have called on everyone to reduce their usage in order to avoid brownouts or blackouts. Even with the calls for cutbacks on usage, Ontario has been importing power in order to meet the demand.

One of Dalton McGuinty’s key promises during the election was to close Ontario’s coal fired plants by 2007. This past June, the Liberals finally conceded that they could not keep their promise and have moved back the expected closure date by 2 years. There is no guarantee that they will be able to meet this new timeline, and they have not shown that they have any realistic plan in place.

The fact is, the Liberals now realize that they do not have the power necessary to replace power generated by Ontario's coal-fired plants and they will be forced to import power from the United States - expensive power that is generated by coal plants. Coal plants from the United States are responsible for a lot of the air pollution and smog here in Ontario.

No one is against the eventual and well- planned closing of coal plants in Ontario. But when you rush to make a promise without proper planning, the results are delays and uncertainty.

Businesses and homeowners have a right to expect that there will be a safe, reliable and affordable energy supply. Without it, businesses will not decide to locate in Ontario, farmers will not be able to operate their farms and homeowners will have to deal with increasing warnings to curb their power consumption.

The Ontario PC Party has taken a more responsible approach to closing these coal plants in the past, one that would have seen them all closed by 2015, but would allow for certainty and reliability of power in the province. Furthermore, it would help ensure that businesses and individual consumers would not be hit with unreasonable price increases.

Our party is supportive of the need for green energy in Ontario. The commitment to close coal-fired plants by 2015 would allow the government to find reliable, clean and affordable sources of energy to replace that power.

Putting public need ahead of politics means having a complete plan with a meaningful and practical commitment to conservation. It means having a plan, with a full business case, so we know where gas, hydro, wind, solar and nuclear fit in. We should see proper analysis on the cost and environmental pros and cons of clean coal technology. We should all be given information about future price and reliability for each of these options.

The challenge of powering Ontario deserves at least a panel of this province's best and brightest from government, industry groups and citizens to review the options, do the business analysis and make recommendations.

Investment, jobs and prosperity are key to every aspect of Ontario's future. It is those jobs which will employ our children. Those jobs will generate the tax revenues we need to pay for health care and education. Reliable and affordable electrical power will be key to attracting and retaining these jobs in the future just as it has been in the past.