Welcome to this week's edition of IPPSA Intelligence! |
Upcoming IPPSA Event IPPSA's Member Only Stampede Affair July 6,2026 ~ 11am - 2pm ~ The Rooftop | |
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Alberta Electric System Operator |
AESO Sets July 31 Deadline for REM Rules Engagement Funding Applications Market & Regulation The AESO's Engage calendar for June 30 through September 4 is dense with overlapping deadlines across several active regulatory workstreams. Market-Based Fast Frequency Response registration and first pricing submissions closed June 30. Feedback windows for Large Load Integration Phase 2A BYOG, Financial Transmission Rights, Market Power Mitigation for Energy Storage and Hydro, and the Cost of New Entry Study all fall in mid-July. The July 31 date carries two items of particular note: feedback due on Amendments to ID #2012-006R (Adequacy, Supply Shortfall and Energy Emergency Alerts), and eligibility application forms due for AESO funding to support participation in the REM Rules Engagement process. |
Greenlight Electricity Centre Takes FID on 932 MW Gas Plant for Sturgeon County Data Centre Electricity, Generation & Infrastructure The Greenlight Electricity Centre Limited Partnership — a consortium of Pembina Pipeline, Kineticor Asset Management, and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners — reached final investment decision on a $4.6-billion natural gas-powered facility in Sturgeon County, approved to supply 932 MW to a potential AI data centre. The project expects to create roughly 1,000 construction jobs and 30 permanent positions. The announcement explicitly credits the fall 2025 Alberta-federal energy agreement that removed the Clean Electricity Regulations as enabling the project, and points to Alberta's Bring Your Own Power model as the policy mechanism that keeps large load additions from burdening the broader grid. |
Alberta Utilities Commission |
AUC Publishes 2025 Two-Year Fixed Rate of Last Resort Electricity Rates Market & Regulation The AUC has posted current Rate of Last Resort rates, clarifying that the ROLR — formerly the Regulated Rate Option — applies to default-service customers whose energy charge is calculated against a fixed two-year rate approved by the Commission. Rates for 2024 remain categorized under the old RRO label, while 2025 rates carry the new ROLR designation, approved under Decision 29204-D01-2024. The page also references 2026 distribution and transmission rate approvals. |
Ottawa Announces Five Interprovincial Transmission Links, Including Two Alberta Interties Electricity The federal government announced five interprovincial transmission links: BC–Yukon, Alberta–BC, Alberta–Saskatchewan (McNeill converter near Medicine Hat), Saskatchewan–Manitoba (Regina–Winnipeg corridor), and a PEI–New Brunswick subsea reinforcement. Projects may be designated under a new Transmission InterConnect Investment Strategy and financed through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Canada Growth Fund, Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, and a 15% clean electricity investment tax credit. Rough cost estimates run to $35 billion for a pan-Canadian grid, with projections of up to $95 billion in new investment over ten years. For Alberta, the two interties would expand interconnection with both BC and Saskatchewan, with implications for import/export capacity and market power dynamics. |
CETO Transmission Project Completed, Adding 135 km of 240 kV Line from Red Deer to Stettler Generation & Infrastructure ATCO Energy Systems and AltaLink completed the Central East Transfer-Out project on June 30, delivering 135 kilometres of double-circuit 240 kV transmission line between Red Deer and Stettler along with substation upgrades. AltaLink's scope covered roughly 50 km and work at the Gaetz 87S substation; ATCO handled about 85 km and the Tinchebray 972S substation expansion. The AESO-directed project was partially financed through a Canada Infrastructure Bank loan projected to save Albertans approximately $135 million over 30 years. CETO expands transmission capacity in central and eastern Alberta, directly supporting generation development — including renewables — in a region that has faced congestion constraints. |
Enmax Opens $240M No. 1 Substation in Downtown Calgary Electricity Enmax opened its No. 1 Substation at 830 9th Ave. S.W. in downtown Calgary on July 2, 2026 — the company's largest transmission and distribution infrastructure project to date at $240 million. The facility will serve approximately half of Calgary's downtown residences and businesses. Mayor Jeromy Farkas linked the investment to Calgary's population growth and rising electricity demand. |
BC Hydro Replaces 1:1 Net Metering with 10 Cents/kWh Fixed Rate for Rooftop Solar Market & Regulation BC Hydro ended its one-to-one net metering credit for residential solar on July 1, replacing it with a fixed export rate of 10 cents per kWh following BCUC approval. Since typical residential rates in BC run 12–14 cents/kWh, solar owners now receive less for power they export than they pay for power they consume. BC Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote publicly criticized the change as a disincentive to rooftop solar adoption. The BC policy shift is a useful comparator for Alberta as it considers compensation structures for distributed generation — the direction regulators take on net metering has direct bearing on behind-the-meter investment decisions. |
Federal Government Backs Yukon–BC Intertie; Project at Least Several Years Away Generation & Infrastructure Ottawa announced support for an approximately 800-kilometre Yukon–BC transmission line as part of its five-intertie national grid announcement. Yukon Energy Minister Ted Laking estimated the project at roughly $4 billion and acknowledged it will not address Yukon's immediate winter power shortages. Federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson noted the Yukon–BC link depends on BC Hydro first completing its North Coast Transmission Line, with NRCan already committing $40 million for feasibility work. Yukon is managing near-term supply gaps with fossil-fuel peakers in Whitehorse, dam repairs at Mayo, and demand-management programs. Context for Alberta: this project reinforces the federal push for western grid interconnection, with the Alberta–BC intertie restoration in the same package. |
Saskatchewan Eyes Large Nuclear Reactors Alongside Federal Backing for SK–MB Intertie Expansion Generation & Infrastructure At the Energy and Mines Ministers' Conference in Yellowknife, federal Minister Tim Hodgson confirmed federal priority support for the Saskatchewan–Manitoba intertie expansion, targeting up to 2 GW of additional transfer capacity along the Regina–Winnipeg corridor. The broader federal package also includes restoration of the Alberta–BC intertie (~150 MW) and upgrades to the Alberta–Saskatchewan intertie. The article argues the SK–MB intertie scale implies Saskatchewan intends to build large nuclear reactors as the primary generation source. Federal financing tools include the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit, Canada Infrastructure Bank, and a new Federal-Provincial-Territorial Framework on Interties. The Alberta–Saskatchewan intertie upgrade is directly relevant to Alberta's export and import options. |
Quebec's 25-Year Energy Plan Targets 77% Renewables by 2050, Requires $87B Investment Policy & Transition The Quebec government released a 25-year resource management plan on June 30 calling for renewables to reach 77% of provincial energy consumption by 2050, up from 48% today, while fossil fuels drop from 52% to 23%. The price tag is approximately $87 billion, covering hydroelectric upgrades and new wind, solar, and bioenergy capacity. Officials acknowledged partial overlap with Hydro-Québec's existing $200-billion plan through 2035 but could not quantify the overlap. Quebec's scale of hydro expansion and export ambitions are worth watching from Alberta's perspective, particularly as federal intertie policy increasingly frames Quebec as a potential power exporter to the rest of Canada. |
Nova Scotia Approves 1,200 MW Ocean Lake Wind Farm, Province's Largest Onshore Wind Project Renewables Nova Scotia's Environment Department approved the Ocean Lake Wind Project in Guysborough County — 158 turbines at 221 metres each, developed by EverWind NS Holdings and Membertou Development Corp. Construction is slated to begin in 2029 and take approximately five years, subject to 61 environmental conditions. Once operational, the project is expected to generate about 1,200 MW, enough for roughly 400,000 homes. It also feeds EverWind's green hydrogen and ammonia operations at Point Tupper, with a Phase 2 potentially adding up to 2 GW more and 800,000 additional tonnes per year of ammonia production. The project's scale signals the kind of large-scale wind-to-hydrogen integration that Alberta developers are also exploring. |
EDF Sells US and Canada Power Solutions Operations to KKR for $4.2B Economic & Finance EDF Group signed an agreement to divest EDF Power Solutions Inc. (US) and EDF Power Solutions Canada Inc. to KKR at a valuation of approximately $4.2 billion, with potential earnout payments of up to $0.39 billion. The transaction is expected to reduce EDF's net financial debt by around $5.5 billion and is subject to regulatory approvals, with closing anticipated in the second half of 2026. EDF Power Solutions operates demand-response and energy management assets across North America. The change in ownership to KKR — an active infrastructure investor — bears watching for any strategic repositioning of those assets in Canadian markets, including Alberta. |
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. |
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