Opposition calls for private electric system report to Alberta minister to be made public

Power lines. (File/CTV News Edmonton)

Alberta's Official Opposition is calling on the provincial government to be more transparent when it comes to the future of electricity generation and supply.

The call for transparency Wednesday comes the day before the Alberta Electricity Systems Operator is slated to deliver its market pathways report to the minister of affordability and utilities, according to the Alberta NDP.

The report is expected to inform the government on market design, cost and the role of new technologies in provincial power generation.

Nagwan Al-Guneid, the NDP energy and climate critic, said at a media conference in Calgary her party wants the ruling UCP government to make public the recommendations in the AESO report to Minister Nathan Neudorf, which was fast-tracked to six months from two years, as it will "act as a blueprint for a sector that impacts every home and business across our province, which is why it's concerning that the UCP has rushed the market design process."

"This is a government that has shown a serious lack of planning and a pattern of rash unilateral decisions about our electricity system," Al-Guneid said, referencing cancellations of "market reforms without offering credible alternatives" and a spike in Alberta electricity prices last spring that saw rates start to rise for those on the regulated rate option (RRO), a rate typically reserved for people with low income or low credit.

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday attributed to Neudorf's office, an unnamed spokesperson said that "given the potential for market-moving consequences for publicly traded electricity generators, this advice-to-minister report was written in confidence and its findings will not be released. This report was not prepared in isolation, other inquiries, studies, and extensive stakeholder engagement are also underway."

Alberta saw record-high prices in August, with Edmonton RRO customers paying 32.5 cents per kilowatt hour and those in Calgary 31.9 cents/kWh. Before the province lifted the cap on regulated rates as a part of its Affordability Action Plan, the regulated rate had been capped at 13.5 cents/kWh.

The record prices came at the same time the Alberta government suddenly imposed, without consultation, a moratorium on all wind, solar and geothermal projects greater than one megawatt, saying the six-month pause came at the request of rural municipalities and the Alberta Utilities Commission.

When it turned out no such requests had been made, the move was justified by concerns over reclamation, destruction of farmland and despoiling of what the government called "pristine viewscapes."

"This is a government that has shown a serious lack of planning and a pattern of rash unilateral decisions about our electricity system," Al-Guneid said, adding that her caucus would like to see the government implement "solutions that will advance a reliable, affordable and low-emissions grid."

"This has not only shaken the confidence of investors and increased uncertainty, but it also halted low-cost energy supply that would lower electricity bills for Albertans."

With files from The Canadian Press