Ontario rule change means Ontarians pay for nuclear plants before they're built

A provincial regulatory change now allows cost recovery for electricity projects during construction, and Ontario Power Generation has filed a rate application to begin recouping interest on Darlington SMR and Pickering refurbishment costs; that application is before the Ontario Energy Board.

For decades Ontario treated new generation as a post‑delivery charge, adding costs to bills only after a project began producing power. Last year the provincial government changed a regulation to permit recovering certain construction interest costs while projects are still being built. Weeks after the change, Ontario Power Generation filed a rate application to start concurrent cost recovery for major nuclear projects. Key developments: - A change to regulation 53/05 allows what OPG calls "concurrent cost recovery," meaning some financing costs can be collected from ratepayers during construction rather than after a facility enters service. - OPG applied to the Ontario Energy Board to begin recouping interest on more than $27 billion in nuclear spending, naming roughly $1.1 billion for Darlington SMRs and $2.9 billion for the Pickering refurbishment over the next six years. - The provincial government says the measure lowers financing risk and reduces long‑term project costs; critics including an environmental law group and opposition politicians say it shifts most construction risk onto ratepayers. - The OPG rate application is currently before the Ontario Energy Board and awaits regulatory review and a decision. Summary: The regulatory change allows some construction interest to be charged to electricity bills before new reactors produce power, and OPG has filed to implement that approach for Darlington and Pickering. OPG’s filing projects near‑term increases (for example, an estimated 5.6% rise in 2027 in its materials), but final approval and any timing remain with the Ontario Energy Board and are undetermined at this time.