Electricity Restructuring and Regulation in the Provinces: Ontario and Beyond

Competitive electricity markets are artificial markets with extensive rules for all participants arising from the complex interconnections of the electricity network. Governments or regulatory agencies oversee the market design process and the operation and maintenance of the market, so market design is necessarily a political process. The conceptual design of the market must recognise the political forces that will operate on the market design process so that the political process will not thwart the intended outcome of the market as it has in some jurisdictions including Ontario. The limited ability of consumers to understand changes in the electricity sector in the short run poses a real constraint on what can be achieved politically. Letting the market set the price means that governments cannot ensure any particular future price level and both theory and experience tell us that prices may increase after restructuring (California, Ontario, Alberta). This makes it difficult to sell restructuring to consumers who will be interested in the price they pay and not much interested in abstractions like efficiency. Another challenge for electricity restructuring is that the starting points differ from one jurisdiction to another and the starting points matter. The problems are different if you begin with a crown monopoly than if you have investor-owned utilities; if expected prices are higher than recent prices rather than lower; if governments have been deeply involved in the electricity sector rather than distant from it; if the public has experience with stable electricity prices rather than fluctuating prices. Finally, the situation in neighbouring jurisdictions matters as well. Restructuring in a low-price jurisdiction surrounded by high prices will increase the prospect of price increases at home, while a high-price island is more likely to see its prices decline. If workable competition will be difficult to achieve at home, strong interties to neighbouring jurisdictions can improve competitive performance if the market is appropriately designed. Air pollution, like electricity, moves across borders, so one must assess and evaluate the pollution implications of competition and make any appropriate adjustments to the market design.electricity restructuring, electric utilities, market design, electricity price, electricity market, spot price, retail competition

Keystone XL Pipeline: Overview and Recent Developments

[Excerpt] This report describes the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and the process that the State Department must complete to decide whether it will approve or deny TransCanada’s permit application. The report also discusses key energy security, economic, and environmental issues relevant to the State Department’s national interest determination. Some of these issues include perspectives among various stakeholders both in favor of and opposed to the construction of the pipeline. Finally, the report discusses the constitutional basis for the State Department’s authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents’ possible challenges to this authority

Emissions trading schemes around the world

Australia’s emissions trading scheme ETS, known as the Carbon Pricing Mechanism (CPM), came into force on 1 July 2012 as part of the Clean Energy Future package. As the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet has stated frequently, Australia is not the only country to have legislated an ETS. In 2010 the Parliamentary Library provided a listing of all ETSs in operation around the world in its Greenhouse gas emissions: still trading after all these years publication. Since then, there has been some progress globally and a number of changes. On 2 May 2012, (for example) the South Korean National Assembly passed legislation for its own type of ETS.This paper provides an overview of international carbon trading in mandatory schemes and presents the current status on legislated multinational, national and regional ETSs around the globe as at the end of April 2013. New proposals relating to existing schemes and emerging schemes in overseas jurisdictions are made on an ongoing basis, so readers should take account of any new developments when assessing future situations. The paper includes two appendices, a map and a table which summarise and consolidate the information on ETSs for easy reference

Carbon Budget—the agenda for mitigation. Australia, Canada, the European Union and Japan

human development, climate change

The Intersection of the Environment and Niche Technology: A Cross-Jurisdictional Analysis of the Integration of Energy Storage Technologies in North America

The purpose of this paper is to identify regulatory and market barriers to energy storage as a model for the adoption of future sustainable energy technologies in Ontario. This paper examines current barriers and makes recommendations for increased sustainable energy technologies, such as storage, in Canadian markets. Utilizing the Multi-Level Perspective theoretical framework, this paper deconstructs the current state of energy storage technology in North America. An agnostic energy storage technological overview is provided to offer an understanding of where the technology is today and how quickly it is advancing. Three cross-jurisdictional storage markets are reviewed: Ontario, Alberta, and California, along with the American Federal agency, FERC. Each jurisdiction examined is evaluated by highlighting the key regulatory bodies along with the market rules and structures that currently apply to storage. Finally, the paper concludes with a policy overview, a view on the role of consumer engagement, and recommendations for adoption of new energy technologies. The recommendations are offered as a result of the comparative analysis conducted, interviews with energy professionals in Ontario, and a legal and policy review along with a literature review. While it is concluded that major barriers presently exists for energy storage in North America, the paper finds that major transformations are occurring resulting from pressure from consumers and the need to combat climate change

Carbon Capture; Transport and Storage in Europe: A Problematic Energy Bridge to Nowhere?

This paper is a follow up of the SECURE-project, financed by the European Commission to study “Security of Energy Considering its Uncertainties, Risks and Economic Implications”. It addresses the perspectives of, and the obstacles to a CCTS-roll out, as stipulated in some of the scenarios. Our main hypothesis is that given the substantial technical and institutional uncertainties, the lack of a clear political commitment, and the available alternatives of low-carbon technologies, CCTS is unlikely to play an important role in the future energy mix; it is even less likely to be an “energy bridge” into a low-carbon energy futureCarbon Capture, Transport, Storage

Status of Social Economy Provision of Wind Electric Energy in Alberta

This is one of three reports arising from BALTA research project B6 - Prospects for Socializing the Green Economy: The Case of Renewable Energy. It examines the current status of involvement in wind power generation by co-operatives and other social economy organizations in Alberta, as well as opportunities and constraints for increasing that involvement.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC

Coalition climate policy and the national climate interest

This paper outlines the results of an analysis of both the Government’s legislated policies and a range of approaches the Coalition could take to implement its policy platform.The Coalition is yet to announce details of key elements of its policy. To capture a range of possible policy options a number of scenarios were evaluated, including weakening or strengthening the Renewable Energy Target, changing the way large emitters are penalised for exceeding emission baselines, or giving firms access to international markets to achieve emission reductions. The modelling is based on a number of conservative assumptions about how the policy will work in practise and will therefore likely overestimate the emission reductions that can be achieved under the Coalition’s policy.This policy brief was developed by Erwin Jackson with key inputs from Corey Watts, Olivia Kember and John Connor

Power Sharing: Developing Inter-Provincial Electricity Trade

Canada needs a “Made-in-Canada” approach to electricity transmission that better exploits the benefits of east-west power trading. In this study, the author explains how to overcome the impediments to electricity trading that currently exist at provincial borders. To ensure continued access to US markets, most Canadian provinces have complied with US electricity trading rules. But when transplanted in Canada these rules limit provinces with competitive electricity markets, where electricity customers may choose among suppliers (Alberta and Ontario), in sharing the benefits of trade with their neighbouring monopoly utilities (such as in British Columbia, Manitoba, or Quebec). Some provinces rely mostly on hydroelectric generation, while others rely more on fossil or nuclear-fuelled generation. Carr says Canada would benefit from more electricity trading on an east-west axis because the sharing of different forms of electricity generation – and time-zone diversity – would allow better use of each province’s generation capacity. Carr makes several specific recommendations for provincial action. He also recommends the federal government support provincial initiatives in the event of NAFTA challenges.Economic Growth and Innovation, Canada, electricity, inter-provincial trade, NAFTA

An overview of current status of carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies

AbstractGlobal warming and climate change concerns have triggered global efforts to reduce the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is considered a crucial strategy for meeting CO2 emission reduction targets. In this paper, various aspects of CCS are reviewed and discussed including the state of the art technologies for CO2 capture, separation, transport, storage, leakage, monitoring, and life cycle analysis. The selection of specific CO2 capture technology heavily depends on the type of CO2 generating plant and fuel used. Among those CO2 separation processes, absorption is the most mature and commonly adopted due to its higher efficiency and lower cost. Pipeline is considered to be the most viable solution for large volume of CO2 transport. Among those geological formations for CO2 storage, enhanced oil recovery is mature and has been practiced for many years but its economical viability for anthropogenic sources needs to be demonstrated. There are growing interests in CO2 storage in saline aquifers due to their enormous potential storage capacity and several projects are in the pipeline for demonstration of its viability. There are multiple hurdles to CCS deployment including the absence of a clear business case for CCS investment and the absence of robust economic incentives to support the additional high capital and operating costs of the whole CCS process