Ontario Premier Doug Ford has suggested the possibility of cutting off Canadian electricity to the U.S. as a response to President Trump’s trade war. In an interview with The Associated Press, Ford stated that all options are under consideration, including stopping power supply to 1.5 million U.S. homes and businesses. He emphasized the need for a united front among Canadian provinces, saying, “We need a Team Canada approach.”
Currently, Canada provides less than 1% of the total electricity used in the U.S., but the distribution is not equal across states. Northern U.S. states rely more heavily on Canadian power. John Parsons from MIT’s Sloan School of Management noted that without Canadian imports, the U.S. would need to rely on more expensive energy sources, increasing both costs and CO2 emissions.
Doug Arent of the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy believes Ontario acting alone would have limited impact. Still, if multiple provinces joined, energy prices in the Northeast U.S. could rise if electricity is cut off for an extended period.
“If the shutoff lasts for days or weeks, there might be price impacts that month,” Arent explained.
Stay tuned for further developments on this story at TheHill.com.
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