INTRODUCTION Canada’s federal government has played a role in the environmental assessment of major projects since the early 1970s, rarely without controversy. Following a surge in public interest of environmental issues in the late 1960s and the introduction of environmental […]

THE REGULATOR’S DILEMMA Regulators are increasingly confronted with the dilemma posed by proposals to advance electrification or, alternatively, to undertake investments that may appear to oppose electrification. For the regulator, these proposals raise issues with respect to the assessment of […]

After nearly three decades of stability, Alberta’s electric industry framework is entering an era of radical and unknown change, primarily driven by the need to mitigate climate change. The Government of Alberta (GOA) directed the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) to […]

INTRODUCTION On June 10, 2024, the Canada Electricity Advisory Council issued its final report: Powering Canada: A blueprint for success (Advisory Council Report).[1] The report stated: For Canada to reach its net-zero goal, multiple studies have concluded that in addition […]

I. INTRODUCTION In 2022, following a discussion with Mongolia’s utility regulator on the importance of evaluating utility performance, a delegate asked how regulators, in turn, evaluate their own performance. It was surprisingly difficult to respond to this question. Traditional metrics […]

The abandonment of the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) in 2017 appeared, at the time, to sound a second death knell for the potential commercial development of the extensive natural gas reserves in the Mackenzie Delta. After a protracted regulatory review, […]