IPPSA Intelligence

Alberta Electric System Operator

Alberta’s electricity system is advancing grid planning, renewable connections, market rule reforms and reliability standards to support a cleaner, more resilient system. The AESO’s upcoming Optimal Transmission Planning framework will offer a roadmap for efficient network expansion.

The filing of the Eastervale Solar Project Needs Identification Document marks a key step toward integrating 290 MW of new solar capacity.

Stakeholders have multiple engagement opportunities in September and October, including sessions on Reliability Requirements, congestion management, data-center connection standards and fast frequency response product design. Tariff and ISO-rule revisions are under way, with cost-allocation workshops slated for late October, revised Rider C estimates for Q4 2025 posted, and administrative amendments to generating unit contribution rules open for comment.

The Restructured Energy Market initiative continues with kick-off sessions to shape future market structures. Collectively, these developments reflect the province’s shift toward decarbonization, requiring updated cost models, procurement mechanisms and reliability standards to balance increasing renewable penetration.

*CORRECTION* Last week’s intelligence quoted an article on Grid Strains. IPPSA would like to clarify that there was recently a demand record set for the date of August 24, at 11,109 MW - meaning this was the highest demand for any August 24. For context, the highest demand during the month of August 2025 was 12,005 MW on August 27. The highest summer demand ever was 12,221 MW on July 22, 2024. We apologize for the error.

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Alberta Q1 Fiscal Update – 2025–26 Deficit Hits $6.5B as Oil Revenue Plummets

Alberta’s fiscal outlook has weakened after a Q1 update projecting a $6.5 billion deficit for 2025–26 — $1.3 billion worse than Budget 2025 — driven chiefly by a 38% collapse in natural resource revenue as oil receipts fall from $25.2 billion in 2022–23 to a projected $15.7 billion.

Near-term priorities emphasize protecting healthcare, education and affordability while pursuing economic diversification, infrastructure and federal engagement to shield Alberta from trade and price shocks. A modest population gain and global slowdown add fiscal pressure. The update signals constrained fiscal flexibility.

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White House Eyes Equity Stakes in Nuclear Fuel Firms

Washington is increasingly considering taking equity stakes in private firms to secure domestic nuclear fuel production, using a DOE nuclear-fuel supply-chain consortium as a vehicle to build U.S. enriched-uranium capacity. Analysts point to roughly $3.4 billion in industry funding needs and cite recent precedent: government equity deals with Intel and MP Materials. 

Drivers are national-security concerns exposed by the Russia‑Ukraine war and surging electricity demand from AI, data centers and other energy‑intensive industries that favor reliable, high-output sources such as nuclear. International models—Urenco and Orano—demonstrate common government ownership of fuel production, informing U.S. policy options that could include funding, diplomatic leverage or equity.

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U.S. Sues Southern California Edison, Alleging Utility Equipment Sparked Deadly Wildfires

Federal lawsuits accusing Southern California Edison of sparking two deadly wildfires underscore growing legal, operational and financial pressures on utilities as climate-driven fire risk rises. The government says Edison equipment ignited the January Eaton Fire that destroyed roughly 9,400 structures and killed 17 people, and the September 2022 Fairview Fire that burned about 21 square miles, killed two and destroyed 44 structures.

Authorities cite a detected transmission-line fault and alleged contact between a sagging power line and a communications cable; the government seeks more than $40 million for Eaton-related government costs and $37 million for Forest Service expenses in the Fairview case. Prosecutors also intend to bar Edison from passing judgment costs to ratepayers. Edison is reviewing the suits and points to ongoing wildfire-mitigation work including grid hardening, situational-awareness tools and operational changes — while local governments and residents pursue larger damages.

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Open Group launches Industrial Advanced Nuclear Consortium to standardize nuclear heat and power

The Open Group has launched the Industrial Advanced Nuclear Consortium (IANC) to accelerate deployment of advanced nuclear heat and power for industry by creating vendor‑neutral open standards, business guides and standardized interfaces. Bringing together industrial end users, suppliers, technology vendors and EPCs, IANC aims to aggregate demand signals, compile industrial use cases and requirements, and stimulate competition in the nuclear supply chain to lower costs, shorten schedules and reduce regulatory uncertainty.

Central activities include developing technical standards, harmonizing sourcing terminology, promoting risk‑appropriate design practices, and advocating regulatory and permitting alignment with industrial project timelines. Early engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is planned to embed safety concepts into standards and inform modernization of regulatory frameworks.

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Case Study: ATCO Electric Uses Hendrix Lines to Deliver Reliable Power Through Narrow Rights-of-Way

Utilities are increasingly adapting infrastructure and planning to deliver reliable power in environmentally sensitive and rights‑of‑way‑constrained areas, exemplified by ATCO Electric’s use of Hendrix distribution and transmission lines in Jasper National Park. Narrow corridors and strict regulatory controls forced a departure from standard designs; the chosen Hendrix lines offer a smaller footprint and installation/maintenance advantages that helped reconcile operational needs with conservation rules. The project highlights detailed transmission planning, engineering adaptations, and coordination with regulators and park managers to meet compliance while preserving service reliability.

As a sponsored case study, the write-up emphasizes practical benefits but stops short of technical specifications, independent evaluation, or cost analysis. For utilities and planners, the case suggests specialized conductors and thoughtfully engineered layouts can unlock routes through protected landscapes without major reliability tradeoffs. For policymakers and land stewards, it reinforces the value of collaborative planning and flexible standards that balance infrastructure needs with conservation goals.

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Environmental groups challenge Saskatchewan over alleged plan to extend coal power to 2050

Environmental groups and three individuals have launched a judicial-review challenge against Saskatchewan’s government, alleging it decided to refurbish and extend coal-fired electricity generation to 2050 in contravention of federal rules that require coal plants to cease operation by 2030 or meet a 420 tonnes CO2 per gigawatt-hour standard.

The province seeks to strike the claim, arguing no formal administrative “decision” exists and raising justiciability — whether courts can adjudicate what it calls a policy matter. Justice Heather MacMillan-Brown declined to resolve merits or grant interim relief, instead ordering a preliminary hearing solely on justiciability and setting detailed filing deadlines for both sides. The legal dispute highlights a growing clash between provincial energy planning and federal emissions regulation, and exemplifies environmental organizations’ increasing reliance on litigation to enforce climate standards.

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Rethinking the Low‑Carbon Transition

Philip Cross opines that nuclear power is regaining support as a reliable, low‑carbon baseload amid concerns that wind and solar alone cannot deliver a fast, affordable transition. Critics point to renewables’ intermittency, scaling limits, land and mineral footprints, and growing end‑of‑life waste streams, arguing these factors raise system costs and strain reliability. Safety records and public opinion are shifting; surveys show growing support for new nuclear and some jurisdictions reversing planned closures.

Debates within the environmental movement pit traditional anti‑nuclear activists against science‑oriented greens who emphasize decarbonization pragmatism. Economically, proponents warn that overreliance on intermittent sources without sufficient firming could raise electricity prices, affect jobs and industrial competitiveness, and trigger political backlash when outages occur.

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Phantom Power: Cutting Standby Electricity from Household Devices

Phantom energy — electricity consumed by devices that remain plugged in while not actively used — accounts for roughly 5–10% of residential energy use, driven increasingly by internet‑connected “smart” appliances. Modern smart TVs with always‑on networking and “smart wake” features can draw about 40 watts in standby, nearly 40 times the load of traditional TVs, making them a prominent source of waste.

Experts and advocates stress that aggregated standby draws raise electricity demand and associated greenhouse‑gas emissions where power mixes include fossil fuels. Industry and policy responses are emerging: manufacturers and advocates have discussed a voluntary agreement to curb smart‑TV standby consumption, while technical fixes and product design changes could embed lower baseline draws.

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Phantom Power: Figuring out what projects are moving forward

Electric utilities across the U.S. are struggling to forecast future power demand due to an influx of speculative interconnection requests from data center developers that may never materialize, creating so-called “phantom data centers” that skew infrastructure planning and load projections. Hyperscalers and AI-focused tech firms are submitting multiple interconnection applications for a single potential data center to different utilities, yet typically only one will proceed—which leaves the rest as ghost entries in utility planning systems.

This misalignment of perceived versus actual demand raises the risk of overbuilding capacity—placing the financial burden on utility ratepayers, who have already endured electricity price increases outpacing inflation. Utilities like Oncor in Texas report a 38% year-over-year rise in such large load requests, including 186 GW from data centers alone, while American Electric Power (AEP) sees firm commitments of around 24 GW and speculative load applications five times its current 37 GW capacity. With forecasts of data center electricity usage expected to climb to between 6.7% and 12% of U.S. consumption by 2028, and annual power demand growth of approximately 2.4% (two‑thirds of which is expected to come from AI‑driven centers), utilities are demanding clearer data from developers to avoid costly miscalculations.

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IPPSA's Mandate

IPPSA's mission is to convene industry, providing information, resources, and a forum for knowledge sharing, and to create opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and education. This newsletter is meant to inform members but not advocate for specific outcomes. We always appreciate your feedback at info@ippsa.com.