The five planning regions in the GTA and Central Ontario area includes all of the Greater Toronto Area, stretches north to Parry Sound/Muskoka, and roughly spans the area from Meaford to Minden.
The GTA West region includes the Regional Municipalities of Halton and Peel, and the Municipalities of Brampton, South Caledon, Halton Hills, Mississauga, Milton, Burlington, and Oakville. The GTA West region also encompasses the Northwest Greater Toronto Area sub-region. GTA West and Peel/Halton Region are often used interchangeably throughout electrical studies.
The local distribution companies providing services to customers in the area include:
Alectra Utilities
Burlington Hydro Inc.
Halton Hills Hydro Inc.
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Milton Hydro Distribution Inc.
Oakville Hydro Electricity Distribution Inc.
Community Engagement
The IESO engages with local and regional communities to seek input to help inform planning activities. See Key Resources below for the latest planning documents.
Regional electricity planning has kicked-off in the GTA West electrical region to ensure a reliable supply of electricity, and to support local growth and economic development.
The 2024 GTA West Scoping Assessment Outcome Report has been posted along with the IESO’s response to feedback following the October 29 engagement webinar. The report detailed the need for a coordinated regional planning approach and development of an Integrated Regional Resource Plan (IRRP) for the GTA West electricity region.
Engagement will continue throughout the development of the plan with more details to follow. The GTA West engagement webpage continues to be a source of ongoing information related to regional planning activities, including any upcoming engagement opportunities.
In 2019, the IESO and the Ministry of Energy and Electrification initiated a joint study to identify land to be protected for a future transmission corridor to support anticipated long-term growth in demand for electricity throughout the province and GTA. This corridor, to be co-located with the proposed Highway 413, will provide regional supply capacity throughout the GTA West and GTA North planning regions, and enhance bulk supply to the GTA.
This initiative will ensure that transmission needs in the area – documented through the regional and bulk planning processes – can be accommodated when they arise. This is part of ongoing efforts to plan today to keep options viable and avoid future unnecessary costs to electricity ratepayers.
With the study currently underway, a Narrowed Area of Interest (NAI) is protected from development while different space requirements and routing options are considered.
Regional planning is currently active in both GTA West and GTA North, and will be coordinated with this corridor study. Bulk system considerations related to this corridor are also being studied through the South & Central Bulk System Study.
This study is separate from, but will continue to be coordinated in parallel with, the Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO) Highway 413 Study.
December 2024 Update:
The MTO has proposed refinements to their Focused Analysis Area (FAA) following the completion of 90% of their preliminary design work for Highway 413. The IESO and Ministry of Energy and Electrification have made the same refinements to the proposed transmission corridor’s NAI. These lands are no longer needed for the highway or the electricity transmission corridor. A 30-day consultation period for input on proposed refinements to the FAA and NAI is now open on the Environmental Registry of Ontario.
For comments and input regarding this study, please contact the project team or request to be added to the mailing list via NWGTATransmissionCorridor@ontario.ca.
