President Donald Trump said today he intends to declare a "National Emergency on Electricity" in states that could be affected by Ontario's imposition of a 25pc surcharge on electricity exports and further threat to cut off exports entirely.
The emergency declaration will allow the US to alleviate the "abusive threat" from losing electricity imports from Canada, Trump wrote in a post on social media. Trump said in response to the surcharge, he would double existing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, and warned Canada that it would pay a high cost if Ontario cuts off the flow of electricity to the US.
"Can you imagine Canada stooping so low as to use ELECTRICITY, that so affects the life of innocent people, as a bargaining chip and threat?" Trump wrote. "They will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books for many years to come!"
On Monday, Ontario put a 25pc fee on its electricity exports to New York, Michigan and Minnesota in response to Trump's tariffs on Canada. Ontario premier Doug Ford said he was applying "maximum pressure" on the US over its tariff war, and threatened to cut off exports entirely if Trump increased tariffs further. Ontario was the largest exporter of electricity to the US in 2023, sending 15.2 TWh to the US.
Trump already declared a national energy emergency on 20 January, unlocking emergency authorities to fast-track permitting and seek to retain production of baseload power plants. Trump has yet to offer more details on the electricity emergency, but the US Department of Energy (DOE) can issue emergency orders that would allow power plants to run at maximum capacity or waive some environmental regulations. DOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The New York Independent System Operator, which runs the state's electric grid, said it was analyzing the effects of Ontario's orders and expects to have "adequate reserves to meet reliability criteria and forecast demand for New York."
