Water and Electricity Shortages

Ontario has been hot and humid for quite some time; the forecast is for more of the same. And despite the humidity, we have had little rain.

The result has been huge peak-load demands for electricity and water. And since we don't have time-of-day or seasonal or any other type of peak-load pricing, we often find ourselves facing shortages. The shortages manifest themselves as brown-outs, blackouts, brown lawns, and dying gardens because of restrictions on water and electricity use that are enforceable with serious fines. There is a very good posting and discussion of this problem at The Western Standard.

We have no excuse for not moving toward peak-load pricing. People respond to incentives, and charging them more during the peak periods of demand will induce many to shift their usage to off-peak periods.