Updated Electricity Market and Grid Rules

Alberta
Alberta has proclaimed legislation, effective March 6, 2024, to modernize the electricity grid,  reduce demand, adapt new technologies, and work toward a carbon-neutral grid by 2050. Specific provisions include allowing more energy storage and more on-site power generation with the option to sell excess power to the grid. Gov’t press release here. Full legislation here.

Additionally, Alberta is temporarily updating electricity market rules, particularly  regarding economic withholding. In the current system, generators sometimes hike up their prices collectively, to take advantage of the energy-only market which results in higher prices for consumers. Temporary measures to come forth include limiting the offer price of natural gas generating units owned by large generators, if net revenues cross a predefined threshold. The second will address physical withholding, by requiring natural gas generating assets to be made available, as directed by the AESO, in certain circumstances such as extreme weather and other times of peak demand.

We speculate that these provisions are temporary to test their effects on the market in a sort of “trial run.” CanGEA will be advocating for permanent reforms to ensure geothermal power can receive the premium price that baseload renewable energy deserves and needs to compete in Alberta’s electricity market and enhance Alberta’s grid and goals to be more robust and sustainable. Full gov’t press release here.