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[…]
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[…]
Each year when we write this Annual Review we face the same issues. The first issue on the list is always pipelines. In the 2016 Annual Review the first heading was “The Pipeline Delays are Over”. Last year, the first heading of the review was “Pipeline Delays are Back”. This year, the first heading is “Pipeline Delays Continue”[…]