Thursday, November 18, 2021

New legislation could see changes to Alberta's power grid

The act could potentially bring down wire costs in the province for consumers, and encourage more competition and choice in the marketplace, said Dale Nally, associate minister of natural gas and electricity.

 By: Jessica Nelson
Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity, Dale Nally, introduced Bill 86, the Electricity Statutes and Amendment Act, in the Alberta legislature on Nov. 17, 2021. SCREENSHOT/Photo

A local MLA wants to further modernize Alberta’s electricity system with new legislation which would benefit both the electricity industry, and consumers.

On Nov. 17 Dale Nally, associate minister of natural gas and electricity, introduced Bill 86, the Electricity Statutes and Amendment Act, in the Alberta legislature.

If passed, the bill would see initiatives in three key areas: energy storage, self-supply with export, and distribution policy. The act could also potentially bring down wire costs in the province for consumers, and encourage more competition and choice in the marketplace, said Nally.

The initiatives would bring clarity for the electricity industry to the rules of self-supply, with export in producing electricity, as well as clarity surrounding the rules of energy storage, both of which are not currently allowed without exemptions.

“Right now, self-supply and export is not allowed in our marketplaces. There are four exemptions to that — industrial system designation facilities; municipalities for their own use; micro-generation; and then also flare gas. It’s very restricted,” said Nally.

Self-supply and export allow a company to generate electricity and then sell or draw from the grid. The amendments would allow for unlimited self-supply and export.

The energy-storage amendments, according to the Nov. 17 press statement, introduce new definitions for both energy-storage resource and energy-storage facility, and for setting the stage for their approvals.

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