Issue
Affordable, reliable electricity is critical to the sustainability of the Canadian economy.
Background
Reliable and affordable electricity are essential components of a well-functioning, competitive economy. Provincial interties are a key aspect of Alberta’s integrated transmission system, with three operating in Alberta (connecting to B.C., Saskatchewan, and Montana). These interties enable the import and export of electricity from neighboring jurisdictions to both support Alberta’s robust, competitive, energy-only market and provide system reliability, which is of utmost importance to residential, farm, and small business and industrial consumers throughout the province. Alberta is currently the least interconnected province in Canada as a percentage of electrical load.
Recommendations
That the Government of Alberta:
- Support private investment in provincial interties to enable competition in Alberta’s energy-only market, lower electricity costs, and improve grid reliability, including BHE Canada’s MATL intertie and back-to-back DC converter station project; and
- Promote development of interjurisdictional interties to improve access to electricity produced by renewable resources and increase opportunities for interprovincial and Canada-U.S. electricity trade.
