Natural gas plays a central role in various initiatives aimed at moving towards reducing carbon emissions. That role, however, sometimes appears inconsistent, indeed self-contradictory. On the one hand, as the cleanest-burning, lowest carbon-emitting of the hydrocarbon fuels, wider use of natural gas is often promoted as a “bridging fuel,” particularly to replace the burning of coal[…]
On July 1, 2020 the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA came to an end. After 24 years, NAFTA was replaced by a new agreement called the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.[2] The main impact as far as the energy sector is concerned was elimination of the famous Chapter 11 dispute resolution provision[…]
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the widespread adoption of innovative communication tools, particularly to replace in-person gatherings. On May 6, the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA), a co-sponsor of Energy Regulation Quarterly (ERQ), hosted its annual CAMPUT Workshop in digital format[…]
Canada may soon receive the worldwide prize for being the most difficult jurisdiction to build energy projects in. This is particularly the case with pipelines. In the last five years, investors have walked from four major projects. In total they accounted for over $50 billion in investment.
Restructuring of the Alberta electrical power market, which began in the late 1990s, continues to evolve. In the lead article in this issue of Energy Regulation Quarterly, “A Tale of Two Market Designs: What’s New in Alberta”, Bob Heggie discusses the current initiative to reshape the role of market forces in the wholesale electricity market through the introduction of an administered capacity market, while the Alberta Utilities Commission is examining whether and how market forces can be brought to bear in the, traditionally monopolistic, distribution infrastructure function[…]
The issue of the locational treatment of transmission line losses has a long history in Alberta. Indeed, when Alberta’s electric system was deregulated in 1995, a key principle for the new, open access transmission system, was that generators would pay charges or receive credits based on the location of supply to ensure maximum efficiency of the system[…]