By Marco Chown Oved Climate Change Reporter, Andrew Bailey Data Analyst

This article was published in the Toronto Star on Sunday, October 1, 2023. The article was updated Oct 2, 2023

It was called “the mistake by the lake.” Residents opposed it. Toronto council voted against it. The province built the Portlands gas plant anyway, saying it would only run during periods of peak energy consumption. Data shows it ran 21 hours a day this summer. And it’s not the only one.

In a pink shirt and a satin blue tie, a representative of the company that wanted to build a new gas plant sat down in front of his webcam and started his presentation, the sound of his voice only slightly desynchronized with his picture.

Projected on large screens in city council chambers, and watched online by citizens concerned about air pollution and carbon emissions, he reassured everyone that the generator would only operate during periods of peak electricity demand — “two per cent of the time.”

Brampton’s Goreway Power Station is being used two and a half times more than it used to be

The Portlands plant, located on the waterfront in the heart of downtown Toronto, ran nearly 21 hours a day, all summer long. Richard Lautens / Toronto Star

The Halton Hills Generating Station has been in production for an average of 14 hours and 40 minutes a day this year. Bryan Myers/Torstar / Bryan Myers/Torstar

Gas plant pollution affects millions in the GTA

Medical studies link adverse health effects to people living as far as 20 km from a gas plant.

Marco Chown Oved is a Toronto-based reporter covering climate change for the Star. Reach him via email: moved@thestar.ca.