Written by Sheldon Spackman / Photo by Lindsay Wiebe
Alberta’s electricity industry has seen amazing transformations over the past 15 years, with more to take place over the next 15. That, according to Enmax President & Ceo Gianna Manes who spoke to a Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Black Knight Inn on Wednesday.
Manes told the audience there has been a shift from coal powered energy in Alberta to natural gas and renewable energy. Not to mention rapidly changing technology, increasing customer expectations and a growing focus on environmental policies and stewardship. With numerous technology and policy changes taking place throughout the industry, Manes says “Alberta needs to focus on the practical implementation of all these changes to ensure that Albertans can have a safe, reliable, affordable and increasingly green source of electricity for the future.” Manes says Canada’s electricity system is among the cleanest in the world, with emissions having been reduced by 30 percent since 2005. However, she points out that the largest change they’re incurring right now has to do with the increased emphasis on environmental regulation, saying “Here in Alberta, we will be on a path to retire our coal plants for example and we must replace that generation with something that is cleaner but also reliable and affordable.”
So what do all these technology and policy changes mean to a Red Deerian’s energy bill? Manes says “Right now we’re at a historical low in terms of electricity prices, so I do see prices increasing over time here in Alberta but the amount of increase and how quickly and how much, really depends on what the implementation plan is around these new policy announcements.” Something Manes says is still under development and up for discussion with government and their plans over the next several years.
Manes says all Alberta coal plants are mandated by government to be retired by 2030, with that energy being replaced by today’s technology of natural gas and wind. She says with industry plans to invest billions into electrical infrastructure in the coming years and the fact those facilities last for decades, they are “already planning for what type of electricity generation do we need ten years from now.” Manes says “You don’t change this type of infrastructure out in a day, it’s going to take some time. 2030 seems like it’s a long way away but in our industry, it’s really just around the corner.”
Manes says Alberta needs to get this right, because the cost of getting it wrong could be devastating, adding “doing things overnight is a path to failure”.
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