Niagara
Area Overview
The Niagara region includes the City of Port Colborne, City of Welland, City of Thorold, City of Niagara Falls, Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, City of St. Catherines, Town of Fort Erie, Town of Lincoln, Township of West Lincoln, Town of Grimsby, Township of Wainfleet, and Town of Pelham. Haldimand County has also been included in the regional infrastructure planning needs assessment for Niagara region.
The local distribution companies providing services to customers in the area include:
- Alectra Utilities
- Canadian Niagara Power Inc.
- Grimsby Power Inc.
- Hydro One Networks Inc.
- Niagara Peninsula Energy Inc.
- Niagara-on-the-Lake Hydro Inc.
- Welland Hydro-Electric System Corporation
Community Engagement
The IESO engages with local and regional communities to seek input to help inform planning activities. There are currently no active regional planning engagement activities for this region. See Key Resources below for the latest planning documents.
Join a regional electricity network
Regional Planning Progress Update
The second regional electricity planning cycle in Niagara was completed with the release of an Integrated Regional Resource Plan (IRRP) and the supporting Appendices in December 2022. The electricity plan identifies sustained regional growth in specific pockets including in West Lincoln, Lincoln, Welland, Thorold, and Niagara Falls, driving emerging station capacity, supply capacity, asset replacement, and load security needs. To accommodate load growth, maintain reliability, and optimize asset replacement, the plan recommends a package of solutions – with key recommendations being:
- Load transfers from Beamsville Transformer Station (TS) and a new or expanded 230 kV station in the Lincoln/West Lincoln area with a target in service date of 2026-2027;
- Replacement of 115 kV Crowland TS in the City of Welland with a larger 230 kV station and new ~18 km 230 kV transmission lines running south between Welland and Thorold with a target in service date of 2028;
- Upgrade of an existing circuit and implementation of a control actions to manage the load in the Niagara Region, to be implemented starting in 2024; and,
- Ongoing monitoring of growth and exploring opportunities for targeted conservation and demand management, particularly in areas with near-term needs until transmission reinforcements are in-service.
The IESO also developed a Scoping Assessment Outcome Report and Terms of Reference that identified the need for a more comprehensive Integrated Regional Resource Plan (IRRP) and includes the terms of reference that outlines the timing and details of the work to develop this 20-year electricity plan for the region. This followed the completion of a Needs Assessment published by Hydro One in May 2021.