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Abstract:
The electricity sector is poised to be a powerful enabler towards creating a low carbon economy. The Ontario government began instituting policies to achieve emissions reductions through programs like the Feed in Tariff. Initial policy framework advocated for a specific tool to achieve its inferred mandate of reducing emissions and codified these programs in legislation. As more technologies evolved additional policy prescriptions were created to integrate them. The environmental objectives of reducing emissions were not mentioned in the creation of these policies. Ontario is now faced with a patchwork of policy tools that cannot value disruptive technologies like microgrids because the current electricity markets are compartmentalized and do not value emissions reductions. While the Ontario government has invested in creating tools to deploy some new technologies, without thoughtful reform it will be unable to effectively realize an environmental return on its investments.