To cut off U.S. electricity exports entirely, Ontario would have to reduce its output [Video]

If Ontario Premier Doug Ford decides to make good on his threat to cut off power to 1.5 million homes and businesses in the United States, he will need to ramp down the energy produced in his province.

On Monday, Ford introduced a 25 per cent surcharge on energy exported from Ontario to Michigan, Minnesota and New York as a response to tariffs on Canadian products brought in by the White House.

Those surcharges — expected to raise up to $400,000 per day — may not be the end of the dispute.

“If the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely,” Ford said on Monday.

To cut off U.S. energy, however, Ontario would have to cut its own energy output. The move would likely mean ramping down the province’s hydro-electric output, energy that is also sold to other jurisdictions in Canada.

“We just have to reduce the amount of …