None of the additional facilities that are proposed to address the current shortfall in oil pipeline and rail capacity out of western Canada – pipeline expansions (Enbridge Line 3, TMX), a new pipeline (Keystone XL) and additional rail tanker cars – will be available in the short-term. Optimizing the use of existing capacity has, therefore, become all the more critical[…]
Two recent cases have highlighted a serious weakness in the governance of the electricity sector in Ontario. The cases illustrate not just the immediate adverse effects of Government interference in specific matters but the deeper damage the Government’s role does to governance of the sector as a whole.[…]
Alberta was the first Canadian jurisdiction to implement a restructured electrical power market. Structuring the electricity sector for competition led to policy determinations and reforms that unbundled generation and retailing functions and turned them over to competitive markets[…]
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[…]
