Ontario’s economic trajectory is increasingly shaped by decisions that rarely make headlines, including how, when and where energy infrastructure is built. At the centre of those decisions sits the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), whose regulatory role is becoming more consequential as Ontario faces rising energy demand, accelerated electrification and renewed interest in large-scale industrial investment.
To better understand how Ontario’s energy framework is evolving to support investment, competitiveness and large-scale electrification, we spoke with Raj Pattani, Director, Strategic Policy at the Ontario Energy Board.
“Our clean, reliable, affordable and secure energy system is a critical competitive advantage for the province,” Raj says.
Regulation as an Enabler of Investment
As a member of the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Energy, Mining and Resources Committee, the OEB brings a regulatory lens to conversations often shaped by market urgency. That perspective is not about restraint for its own sake, but rather about creating the conditions for sustainable growth.
For Raj, Ontario’s energy system is not just an input into economic activity but a strategic asset. Maintaining reliable, affordable, and clean energy systems is essential if the province is to continue attracting large, capital-intensive investment.
That advantage, however, is not self-sustaining. “From all levels of government and across industry, there is a growing recognition that maintaining this advantage will require significant, long-term investment in Ontario’s energy system,” Raj says.
Maintaining it will require what Raj describes as “generational investments” that must be carefully planned, reviewed, financed and delivered in ways that benefit both the economy and ratepayers.
The OEB’s role is to help make that possible. “We help create a stable regulatory environment that gives investors confidence in our utilities, enabling the sector to mobilize significant private capital to build and maintain our energy systems,” Raj explains.
At the same time, regulatory oversight is designed to preserve affordability for businesses and families, ensuring that growth does not come at the expense of fairness or system integrity.
Planning for Growth and Large New Loads
That balancing act is becoming more complex as Ontario’s demand profile changes. Large new loads, including those tied to mining and critical minerals development, are emerging alongside broader electrification across sectors. In response, the OEB is evolving its planning frameworks to ensure energy systems are neither under-built nor over-built.
“Our work related to enhancing integrated planning processes aims to ensure energy systems are built in ways that are responsive to the province’s needs,” Raj says. “And our work on connections is focused on speeding up access to power, making sure industry has predictable and streamlined processes for connecting to Ontario’s electricity networks.”
Unlocking the Value of Distributed Energy Resources
Nowhere is this evolution more visible than in the province’s approach to distributed energy resources (DERs). Ontario’s electricity sector has spent decades integrating DERs at scale, connecting thousands of megawatts while safeguarding system reliability. But the conversation is shifting.
“Our sector’s past focus was on ensuring DERs had no adverse impact on the system,” Raj reflects. “Today, rather than talking about avoiding adverse impacts, the conversation is about leveraging the untapped potential that DERs can offer.”
For the OEB, success means DERs being deployed when and where they make the most sense for the system, utilities and customers alike.
“We are advancing initiatives to ensure DER compensation better reflects the value DERs provide, to equip distributors to harness DERs cost-effectively, and to empower customers to manage their bills,” Raj says.
Competitiveness and Consumer Protection
At the core of this work is a regulatory philosophy that rejects the notion that competitiveness and consumer protection are at odds. “They are often seen as being in tension,” Raj acknowledges. “Ultimately, however, they are mutually reinforcing.”
Clear, transparent rules provide businesses with confidence that energy will be available when and where they choose to invest. Those same rules protect existing consumers by ensuring utilities deliver efficient, reliable service. “Sound consumer protection enhances competitiveness by inspiring the confidence of expanding and new businesses,” Raj adds.
Looking ahead, accommodating electrification and large new loads will require continued regulatory innovation. The OEB is raising baseline expectations for energy planning, revisiting processes to keep pace with faster demand shifts and strengthening coordination between the electricity and natural gas sectors. It is also building on recent successes to improve predictability and timelines for new connections.
“We are evolving our regulatory frameworks to strengthen planning and streamline connections, both critical to enabling economic growth,” Raj says.
Participation in the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Energy, Mining and Resources Committee plays an important role in shaping that evolution. “To have an ‘all of the above’ approach to meeting the province’s energy needs, we’re going to need all hands on deck,” Raj notes.
The committee provides an important platform for members to exchange ideas, hear from global and domestic experts and surface emerging cross-sector priorities.
It also offers the opportunity to demonstrate that regulatory modernization is not theoretical. “We welcome the ability to provide input into case studies on regulatory streamlining,” Raj says, “to show that Ontario is forward-thinking and open for business.”
At a moment when energy policy and economic strategy are increasingly inseparable, Raj’s participation on the committee underscores a simple truth: growth depends not only on ambition, but on regulatory institutions capable of turning it into action, deliberately, responsibly and at scale.
