IPPSA Intelligence

Alberta Electric System Operator 

Alberta’s electricity market will adjust trading hours on March 8 due to daylight-saving time, omitting hour-ending 02 in the Energy Trading System and renumbering to HE 01,03–24 (DSM uses 1–23). Participants with dispatchable assets must update bids to reflect this change or face mis-scheduling risks.

Meanwhile, Solar Krafte Utilities Inc. has withdrawn its connection request for the Vauxhall Solar Farm, prompting AESO to rescind its abbreviated needs approval. This removes a near-term generation resource and may influence local capacity projections.

On the regulatory front, the AESO’s Reliability Standards Sync Up project has advanced to posting replies to stakeholder comments on proposed medium-complexity ARS standards, with materials available on AESO Engage and a final comment deadline of May 1.

These combined developments signal key operational, planning and governance considerations: market participants must act promptly to ensure accurate dispatch; developers should reassess grid interconnection plans in light of the Vauxhall cancellation; and stakeholders are encouraged to participate in shaping reliability standards before the deadline.

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Barrhead considers land‑use change to allow data centres

Rural Barrhead is preparing to amend its Land‑Use Bylaw to permit data processing centres in agricultural districts, prompted by Axiom Oil and Gas’s proposal to build a modular power generation unit and a roughly 6 MW off‑grid data centre adjacent to an existing Manola gas plant. Council set a continuation public hearing for April 7 and will distribute an information package; those who spoke at the prior hearing may not speak again.

The amendment itself doesn’t approve Axiom’s project but would allow planning authorities to accept and evaluate development permit applications, which current bylaws legally prevent.

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Alberta Budget 2026

Alberta’s 2026 provincial budget, tabled Feb. 26, lands at a time of projected deficit and economic uncertainty, but it intersects directly with major structural shifts in the province’s electricity system. While the budget itself does not centre on large new direct grid spending, it reinforces the government’s broader strategy to manage rapid load growth, reliability pressures, and market reform under the Restructured Energy Market (REM). Electricity policy remains focused on ensuring new generation keeps pace with accelerating demand, strengthening cost-causation principles, and limiting risk exposure to taxpayers and ratepayers amid tightening adequacy conditions.

A key intersection with the budget is Alberta’s approach to large data centres and AI-driven loads, which are expected to materially increase electricity demand. The province has introduced a data centre levy framework and regulatory tools that encourage “bring-your-own-generation” or direct supply arrangements to prevent existing customers from bearing grid expansion costs. 

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Red Deer Advances Plan to Establish Municipally Controlled Electric Utility Corporation

Red Deer is moving to modernize its electric utility by establishing an Electric Utility Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC), following a June 2025 Council decision. Stage 1 planning completed in 2025; Stage 2 focuses on governance frameworks, regulatory applications and transition planning before operations transfer. Council requested an April 2026 side‑by‑side governance options analysis to inform choices.

The utility will remain a City department until required approvals—notably from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)—are secured; MCC operations are targeted for early 2028 but timing is contingent on regulatory review. There are no immediate changes to service or billing for more than 45,000 metered sites across 15 substations; the utility has operated since 1926 and generates revenue that supports City services.

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B.C. Electricity Profits Rebound

B.C.’s electricity sector saw profits rebound in 2025, with BC Hydro and Powerex benefiting from stronger export prices and improved hydro conditions, positioning British Columbia as Canada’s top power exporter. Higher trading revenues reflect the value of B.C.’s large hydro fleet and its ability to sell into U.S. and interprovincial markets during high-price periods.

For the electricity industry, the results highlight the economic importance of clean export capacity and strong interties, while also underscoring the need to balance export opportunities with growing domestic demand and climate-driven hydro variability.

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EPRI On AI Demand

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) white paper Powering Intelligence examines how the rise of artificial intelligence and data centers is reshaping electricity demand and planning. EPRI finds that as AI workloads grow—especially generative models that can consume 10× the energy per query of traditional internet tasks—data center electricity use in the U.S. could rise from about 4% today to roughly 4.6%–9.1% of total generation by 2030 under different scenarios.

This growth is concentrated geographically and could create local grid supply challenges due to large, fast-moving loads with high reliability expectations and requests for clean power sources. EPRI emphasizes strategies like improving data center energy efficiency and flexibility, early collaboration on power needs and timing, and advanced modeling to plan the 5–10+ year grid investments required to integrate these large, novel loads without undermining reliability or affordability.

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NDP Demands Transparency as SaskPower Pursues Nuclear Plans and Major Transmission Upgrades

Saskatchewan’s energy debate has shifted toward high‑stakes, long‑term choices as SaskPower explores large nuclear reactor designs and the minister announces major electrical transmission upgrades. The NDP’s Aleana Young warns repeated rate hikes, coal refurbishment decisions and new capital projects risk driving up household and business costs without transparent cost‑benefit analysis.

Her critiques emphasize an “appalling lack of transparency”: missing 2026–27 business plan, delayed FOI and written answers, and limited responses from the minister and SaskPower executives, while privatization conversations proceed in public fora.

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SaskPower Plans Multi‑Billion Grid Investment to Boost Provincial and Interprovincial Transmission

SaskPower is planning a multibillion-dollar program to expand and strengthen Saskatchewan’s electrical grid, boosting transmission capacity within the province and building links beyond provincial borders. Such major transmission investment reflects wider trends: utilities modernizing aging infrastructure, enabling higher shares of renewables, improving reliability and resilience against extreme weather, and positioning regions for interprovincial power trade.

Notably, expanded corridors can open capacity for remote wind and solar projects, support new generation connections, and reduce constraints that raise system costs. Economic effects include substantial construction and engineering activity, potential rate impacts for customers depending on financing and regulatory decisions, and opportunities for provincial industrial growth tied to firmer power supply.

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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.