Alberta
Province “rewiring” Alberta’s electricity grid for growth

Rewiring Alberta’s electricity market
Alberta’s government is making changes to the province’s electricity market rules to restore the balance between affordability, reliability and sustainability.
Alberta’s government is modernizing the province’s electricity system to put Albertans first, restoring the balance between affordability, reliability and sustainability. To achieve this, Alberta’s government continues to work with its partners on power market reforms. Alberta’s transmission policies are also being updated to improve reliability, increase efficiency, protect ratepayers, and align Alberta with other jurisdictions. Alberta’s government is committed to the province’s unique competitive electricity market, which provides consumers with choice and makes the province a premier destination for investors.
Alberta’s electricity system was designed for a small number of baseload power plants generating reliable electricity. In 2016, Alberta’s accelerated coal phase out was rushed through without proper due diligence. With a growing supply of intermittent renewables instead of natural gas, the province’s power grid and prices can become as volatile as the weather.
The thousands of kilometres of new transmission lines that were required to connect renewables added costs for Albertans, and back-up sources are required to keep the lights on. As demand for electricity only continues to increase, it’s expected that Alberta’s need for electricity could more than quadruple in the coming decades. It is critical that Alberta’s government make changes now to ensure the affordability, reliability, and sustainability of the provincial grid in the decades to come as demand surges.
“Albertans deserve a modern electricity system that prioritizes affordability and reliability. As our electricity supply mix evolves so should our policies, and these updates to transmission policies are essential to ensuring Albertans are well-served by our electricity system for years to come.”
Following three years of engagement with industry, Alberta’s government is making changes to ensure the province’s ratepayers are no longer burdened with the full costs of building new transmission lines. Instead, costs for new transmission infrastructure will be assigned on a cost-causation basis going forward. This will incentivise new power plants to be built in optimal locations that take advantage of existing infrastructure, saving costs for both Alberta ratepayers and job creators. As a result of engagement with industry, Alberta’s government is aligning the province with other jurisdictions by giving the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) more market-based tools to increase the efficiency of the province’s grid, prioritizing the use of pre-existing infrastructure.
Updating Alberta’s Transmission Regulation is a significant and necessary step in modernizing the province’s electricity system. To enhance grid reliability, Alberta’s government is also making changes to streamline the process to build and maintain connections between our electricity grid and other jurisdictions. This will reduce red tape and enable critical improvements to happen more quickly. This will also help improve reliability by restoring the electricity grid connections between Alberta and British Columbia, as well as expanding the connections between Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“This is a positive milestone borne out of significant engagement and consultation with industry stakeholders, our partner agencies and the Government of Alberta. We appreciate the tremendous investment of time and effort that everyone has put into this process to reach this point, and we look forward to additional engagement in 2025 to further the detailed market design.”
Over the past year, the AESO has engaged extensively with industry on the technical design of a Restructured Energy Market with direction from Alberta’s government. A key aspect of these market reforms includes moving to a day-ahead market, where power generators will be required to commit their power on the previous day, rather than a couple of hours beforehand, making the system better positioned to respond to power fluctuations. This will increase reliability and stability, helping reduce the risk of potential grid alerts. With these changes, Alberta’s government is ensuring that reliability is prioritized, strengthening the grid so that Albertans can get the power they need regardless of the weather.
“Market design features like a day ahead market can help significantly reduce the likelihood of future grid alerts and will ensure that all necessary generators needed to meet electricity demand are online to provide power.”
Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf has sent a letter to inform the AESO of the government’s latest decisions on changes to the Transmission Regulation and further guide the ongoing technical design of a Restructured Energy Market. Alberta’s government intends to bring forward legislation to support these changes in the new year. In the meantime, the temporary measures enacted by Alberta’s government on July 1, 2024 will continue to protect Albertans, ensuring reliable power and predictable utility bills.
Quick facts
- The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) manages and operates the provincial power grid on behalf of Albertans.
- The Market Surveillance Administrator (MSA) is a public agency that protects and promotes the fair, efficient and openly competitive operation of Alberta’s electricity and retail natural gas markets.
Alberta
Median workers in Alberta could receive 72% more under Alberta Pension Plan compared to Canada Pension Plan

From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill and Joel Emes
Moving from the CPP to a provincial pension plan would generate savings for Albertans in the form of lower contribution rates (which could be used to increase private retirement savings while receiving the same pension benefits as the CPP under the new provincial pension), finds a new study published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Due to Alberta’s comparatively high rates of employment, higher average incomes, and younger population, Albertans would pay a lower contribution rate through a separate provincial pension plan while receiving the same benefits as under the CPP,” said Tegan Hill, director of Alberta policy at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Illustrating the Potential of an Alberta Pension Plan.
Assuming Albertans invested the savings from moving to a provincial pension plan into a private retirement account, and assuming a contribution rate of 5.85 per cent, workers earning the median income in Alberta ($53,061 in 2025) could accrue a stream of retirement payments totalling $454,741 (pre-tax)—a 71.6 per cent increase from their stream of CPP payments ($264,968).
Put differently, under the CPP, a median worker receives a total of $264,968 in retirement income over their life. If an Alberta worker saved the difference between what they pay now into the CPP and what they would pay into a new provincial plan, the income they would receive in retirement increases. If the contribution rate for the new provincial plan was 5.85 per cent—the lower of the available estimates—the increase in retirement income would total $189,773 (or an increase of 71.6 per cent).
If the contribution rate for a new Alberta pension plan was 8.21 per cent—the higher of the available estimates—a median Alberta worker would still receive an additional $64,672 in retirement income over their life, a marked increase of 24.4 per cent compared to the CPP alone.
Put differently, assuming a contribution rate of 8.21 per cent, Albertan workers earning the median income could accrue a stream of retirement payments totaling $329,640 (pre-tax) under a provincial pension plan—a 24.4 per cent increase from their stream of CPP payments.
“While the full costs and benefits of a provincial pension plan must be considered, its clear that Albertans could benefit from higher retirement payments under a provincial pension plan, compared to the CPP,” Hill said.
Illustrating the Potential of an Alberta Pension Plan
- Due to Alberta’s comparatively high rates of employment, higher average incomes, and younger population, Albertans would pay a lower contribution rate with a separate provincial pension plan, compared with the CPP, while receiving the same benefits as under the CPP.
- Put differently, moving from the CPP to a provincial pension plan would generate savings for Albertans, which could be used to increase private retirement income. This essay assesses the potential savings for Albertans of moving to a provincial pension plan. It also estimates an Albertan’s potential increase in total retirement income, if those savings were invested in a private account.
- Depending on the contribution rate used for an Alberta pension plan (APP), ranging from 5.85 to 8.2 percent, an individual earning the CPP’s yearly maximum pensionable earnings ($71,300 in 2025), would accrue a stream of retirement payments under the total APP (APP plus private retirement savings), yielding a total retirement income of between $429,524 and $584,235. This would be 22.9 to 67.1 percent higher, respectively, than their stream of CPP payments ($349,545).
- An individual earning the median income in Alberta ($53,061 in 2025), would accrue a stream of retirement payments under the total APP (APP plus private retirement savings), yielding a total retirement income of between $329,640 and $454,741, which is between 24.4 percent to 71.6 percent higher, respectively, than their stream of CPP payments ($264,968).

Joel Emes
Alberta
Alberta ban on men in women’s sports doesn’t apply to athletes from other provinces

From LifeSiteNews
Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act bans transgender males from women’s sports within the province but cannot regulate out-of-province transgender athletes.
Alberta’s ban on gender-confused males competing in women’s sports will not apply to out-of-province athletes.
In an interview posted July 12 by the Canadian Press, Alberta Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boitchenko revealed that Alberta does not have the jurisdiction to regulate out-of-province, gender-confused males from competing against female athletes.
“We don’t have authority to regulate athletes from different jurisdictions,” he said in an interview.
Ministry spokeswoman Vanessa Gomez further explained that while Alberta passed legislation to protect women within their province, outside sporting organizations are bound by federal or international guidelines.
As a result, Albertan female athletes will be spared from competing against men during provincial competition but must face male competitors during inter-provincial events.
In December, Alberta passed the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act to prevent biological men who claim to be women from competing in women’s sports. The legislation will take effect on September 1 and will apply to all school boards, universities, as well as provincial sports organizations.
The move comes after studies have repeatedly revealed what almost everyone already knew was true, namely, that males have a considerable advantage over women in athletics.
Indeed, a recent study published in Sports Medicine found that a year of “transgender” hormone drugs results in “very modest changes” in the inherent strength advantages of men.
Additionally, male athletes competing in women’s sports are known to be violent, especially toward female athletes who oppose their dominance in women’s sports.
Last August, Albertan male powerlifter “Anne” Andres was suspended for six months after a slew of death threats and harassments against his female competitors.
In February, Andres ranted about why men should be able to compete in women’s competitions, calling for “the Ontario lifter” who opposes this, apparently referring to powerlifter April Hutchinson, to “die painfully.”
Interestingly, while Andres was suspended for six months for issuing death threats, Hutchinson was suspended for two years after publicly condemning him for stealing victories from women and then mocking his female competitors on social media. Her suspension was later reduced to a year.
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