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.”

Nathan Neudorf, Minister of Affordability and Utilities

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.”

Aaron Engen, President and CEO, Alberta Electric System Operator

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.”

Derek Olmstead, Administrator & CEO, Market Surveillance Administrator

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.

Related Topics:AlbertaElectricityGrid AlbertaElectricityMarket AlbertaTransmissionLines AlbertaTransmissionPolicies feature

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Carney’s In. Now what?

You’ve been paying attention. You understand this is really bad. Worse than that, it’s dangerous. The country has somehow chosen several more years of a decade-long Trudeau Travesty…on steroids. Because this new Prime Minister has a three digit IQ, deep and questionable connections and a momentum to accelerate the further dis-integration of a nation we all once proudly belonged to. It’s untrue to say the country is dying. But it’s also not a stretch to say it’s on life support.

The era of Carney Carnage is here. While every province will experience it, there’s no secret he’s placed an extra big bulls-eye on Alberta.

It’s not personal, it’s financial.

His plan includes continuing to limit three of Alberta’s most prosperous sectors: energy, agriculture and, by extension, innovation. To acknowledge this requires we abandon our sense of romanticized national nostalgia. Nostalgia is a trap that prevents us from assessing the reality we exist in.

For instance, GDP is considered the financial heartbeat of a country. Over the past decade of Liberal Leadership, the national GDP has been an abysmal 1.1%. By relatable comparison, Mexico was 4%, the UK was 6%, Australia had 8% growth and the US was a whopping 19%.

That’s great information for an economist, but what does it mean to your pay cheque?

The everyday impact on the average Albertan —say, a teacher or mechanic— of 10 long years of 1% GDP means rent’s up at least 25%, a trip to the grocery store always stings, and driving an older car is the norm because an upgrade is out of reach. Does this sound like your reality?

We aren’t starving, but we’re not thriving, either.

Does this make sense for 4.5 million people living with the third most abundant energy deposits in the world? There’s an absurdity to the situation Albertans find themselves in. It’s akin to being chronically dehydrated while having a fresh water spring in the backyard.

The life you’ve invested for, the future you believed was ahead, isn’t happening.

If Alberta stays on this path.

So what can you, as an Albertan, do about it?

This Fall, we’ll be provided an opportunity. A life raft in the form of a referendum. It requires curiosity, imagination and courage to step into it, but the option will be there — a once in a lifetime shot at prosperity for you and your family: Alberta Sovereignty.

A successful bid means Albertans can finally paddle out of the perilous economic current that’s battered us for ten long years.

Alberta has the resources, talent and spirit of collaboration to create a prosperous future for our families and communities.
If you want your vote to finally mean something, if you feel you deserve more from your pay-cheque, grocery store visits and need greater control over your family’s future, register your intent to sign YES to sovereignty now.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Click here to see all upcoming APP events.

WHAT CAN ALBERTANS DO?

Register Your Intent To Vote “YES”

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New Alberta Election Act bans electronic vote counting machines, lowers threshold for recalls and petitions

Published on April 29, 2025

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Alberta’s government is introducing changes to protect democracy, deliver fair and open elections and increase confidence in every vote cast.

Voting gives Albertans a voice in shaping the future of our province. Direct democracy processes like referendums, recall and citizen initiative petitions provide further opportunities for Albertans to be heard and express their views. The proposed Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, would make Alberta’s elections and other democratic processes more open, secure and accessible.

“I believe that democracy thrives when people trust the process. These changes would make elections at every level in Alberta more accessible and transparent while protecting their integrity, ensuring confidence in the outcomes. We are also creating more opportunities for Albertans to be involved in direct democracy and to have their say on issues that matter to them.”

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Eliminating vouching at voting stations to strengthen identification and verification processes.
Requiring unofficial vote counts to be completed within 12 hours of polls closing to provide timely, reliable results.
Voters being required to cast their ballot in their constituency of residence or by requesting a special ballot.
Expanding access to special ballots, allowing any voter to request one without needing to provide a reason while protecting integrity by requiring voters to personally request their special ballot (with exceptions for those needing assistance due to a disability).
Updating the Recall Act to make it easier for Albertans to hold elected officials accountable by lowering the signature threshold and extending the timeframe to collect signatures.
Improving the Citizen Initiative Act process by setting the threshold for all successful petitions at 10 per cent of eligible voters who participated in the last general election.

“Albertans rightly expect their government to make sure democratic processes are fair and transparent with accurate and timely results. These proposed amendments would deliver on my mandate to review and make changes to strengthen public trust in the integrity of our elections.”

Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Additional amendments under the Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 would:

Allow corporate and union contributions for provincial elections while maintaining transparency and accountability through existing financial disclosure requirements.
Improve access to voting for First Nations and Métis Settlements during referendums and Senate elections.
Enhance emergency response provisions for voting disruptions during referendums and Senate elections.

These changes would help ensure that Alberta’s democratic processes are open, secure, and reflective of the will of Albertans, while creating new opportunities for greater public participation.

Quick facts

The Election Act governs the process for provincial elections, by-elections and plebiscites in Alberta and creates the office of the chief electoral officer, the head of Elections Alberta.
The Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act governs the financing of provincial elections, Senate elections and referendums, including rules for registered political parties, constituency associations, candidates, leadership contestants and third parties.
The Alberta Senate Election Act governs the process for Senate elections in Alberta.
The Referendum Act governs the process for referendums in Alberta.
The Recall Act outlines the process for Albertans to initiate the recall of an elected MLA.
The Citizen Initiative Act allows eligible voters in Alberta to propose legislative or policy initiatives, constitutional referendum questions and establishes rules for advertising and spending.