Alberta rejects “costly” federal electricity rules, threatens court battle
The Albertan government is warning that the Liberals’ electricity regulations will cost billions, threaten grid reliability, and significantly raise prices. The province has vowed not to comply.
The Albertan government is warning that the Liberals’ electricity regulations will cost billions, threaten grid reliability, and significantly raise prices. The province has vowed not to comply.
Alberta’s Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz and Affordability Minister Nathan Neudorf issued a joint statement on Thursday.
“We will keep standing up for Albertans and continue preparing to oppose these unconstitutional rules in court — where we fully expect to win, again,” wrote Schulz and Neudorf.
The pair cited a new report from the Alberta Electric System Operator, which showed that the Clean Electricity Regulations would cost Albertans $30 billion between 2024 and 2049. The report also predicts that between 2035 and 2050, electricity costs will rise an additional 35 per cent across the board due to the regulations.
The Liberals finalized the Clean Electricity Regulations in Dec. 2024. The regulations set limits on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel-powered electricity generation starting in 2035, to achieve a net-zero electricity grid by 2050.
The system operator concluded that the regulations threaten the reliability of Alberta’s grid, increase costs, and fail to reduce carbon emissions meaningfully.
“The CER sets an emission limit which is unattainable with commercially viable technologies. For example, best-in-class natural gas combined-cycle technologies emit five to six times the CER limit. The CER as adopted fails to recognize practical reality,” reads the report. “As a result, by 2038, the CER would make Alberta’s electricity system more than 100 times less reliable than the province’s supply adequacy standard.”
The report predicts power shortages by the mid-2030s if the regulations proceed.
Alberta officials argued that the province has already made significant progress in reducing electricity emissions by 59 per cent since 2005. They pointed out this was done without the regulations and that emissions will continue to drop without federal interference.
“It’s clear the federal government’s new regulations aren’t actually about reducing emissions. Just like with the carbon tax, the real goal is punishing businesses, provinces and families for using natural gas for reliable, dispatchable power,” said the ministers.
The report projects that the regulations will result in less than one megatonne of annual emissions reductions from Alberta’s electricity grid. It concludes that the regulations are “inefficient and ineffective,” resulting in the grid facing “significant risk for little to no benefit.”
The province’s system operator wrote to the Liberals during the consultation process, warning them about the regulations. Electricity Canada also expressed “profound concerns” about how the regulations would endanger both affordability and reliability nationwide.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith previously invoked the Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act to shield the province from the electricity regulations.
The initial version of the federal regulations formerly proposed a net-zero power grid by 2035. Despite delaying the timeline to 2050, Alberta previously said it was still unconstitutional and that any such regulations would be challenged in court.
Schulz and Neudorf said it’s time to reverse course instead of continuing down the path of costly and punitive policies.
“Someone must fix the mess that Ottawa has made before it’s too late. The next federal government needs to scrap these dangerous regulations and start listening to common sense,” wrote the ministers.
It's well past time for Alberta to cut loose from federation. Being a part of kanaduuh is just putting us in their path of destruction. There is no longer anything to lose by leaving and plenty to gain. Premier Smith, do you best and get us out.
Good energy, bad energy! All energy sources must be welcome. Why? Because human beings are lazy. self-absorbed gluttons that cannot stop requiring more energy to run their cell phones, power their electric bikes and, surely the most idiotic use of all, power endlessly computers that create bitcoins. All provincial electric utilities should split into two: power generation and power distribution. The latter would allow users to choose their preferred source. Thus, virtue signalers could choose windmills, and if this source should cost 20 times hydro electricity then they should be happy to pay because they will be more than happy to lord it over the rest of us.