Tarhan, Derya

This study tracks the evolution of public electricity governance in Ontario by applying energy commoning as an analytical framework. An energy commoning framework, built on the principles of collective governance, universal access, and social justice, allowed for exploring the interrelationship between community, state, and corporate actors pertaining to control, ownership, and benefits of electricity development in the province. Findings show that the establishment of public power ownership in Ontario at the turn of the twentieth century was achieved through a partnership with municipal/community actors at the expense of corporate control over electricity supply, opening spaces for energy commoning and widespread access to affordable electricity. In contrast, since the 1950s, the centralization of provincial control over electricity infrastructure and generation in the province went hand-in-hand with intensified corporatization of ownership and control, eventually resulting in the privatization of the provincial utility corporation Hydro One in 2017. This corporate-public nexus continually attempted to weaken the critical elements of energy commoning for intensified commodification. The presentation concludes with a discussion on building public community alliances to open spaces for energy commoning and reflections on applying energy commoning as a public policy analysis framework.