Canada Threatens To Cut Electricity Supply To New York City
The Prime Minister of Ontario, Doug Ford, said that 25% tariffs set by the US on Canadian imports may trigger a massive reaction. That would be to cut electricity supply to parts of America. He commented, “If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face.”
Ford’s likely tool would be Ontario Power Generation Inc. and Ontario Hydro Services Company Inc., among North America’s largest fully integrated electricity companies. OPG supplies electricity to customers in North America, including in New York.
Ontario Power
According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies, “Ontario also exported 8.22 TWh to New York, and 1.4 TWh of electricity exports from Newfoundland and Labrador made their way onto the grids of New England and New York.”
An interruption of electricity in New York could be a catastrophe, as the ones in 1977 and 2003 showed. In 1977, the blackout lasted for three days. The worst of the two, in 1977, was caused by a lightning strike.
New York GDP
A break in the electricity supply would be catastrophic to the region, even if it lasted a few days. The city has nine million residents and a metro GDP of $1.3 trillion. Among other things, it is the financial capital of the world.
Doug Ford has quite a lot of leverage.
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