Utilities minister says Alberta's grid doesn't discriminate against Montana power generators

Jack Farrell · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 7:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Alberta's utilities curate says that, contrary to a caller report, the province's energy grid relation doesn't discriminate against U.S. powerfulness generators.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative listed Alberta's non-profit electrical grid relation arsenic a commercialized irritant successful a study this week, claiming Montana-based energy producers aren't being afforded just entree to the Alberta market.

The report, updated annually, claims the Alberta Electricity System Operator, oregon AESO, unfairly favours energy generated wrong the state implicit arsenic priced U.S. vigor during times of surplus grid powerfulness oregon congested transmission lines.

"The AESO has besides projected further fees and different restrictions connected imported energy," the study reads.

Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf told reporters Wednesday that those concerns person been a "long-standing issue" raised with his office, but helium maintained that nary jurisdiction is receiving preferential treatment.

"We don't dainty generators successful the U.S. oregon immoderate different jurisdiction immoderate otherwise than generators wrong Alberta," helium said.

"Any decisions made by the AESO has to bash with reliability of our grid, thing that we've been undertaking astatine slightest for the past 2 years arsenic we've seen a important imbalance successful the procreation capableness wrong the province."

Neudorf said the state is making definite Alberta lives up to its commercialized obligations but said it's imaginable AESO was named arsenic a commercialized irritant due to the fact that Alberta has imported little vigor from Montana implicit the past 2 years portion besides expanding its electrical exports to the authorities implicit the aforesaid clip period.

Interconnectivity is key, curate says

According to AESO's 2024 Annual Market Statistics report, Montana is inactive a nett exporter of energy to Alberta contempt the reduced imports, which successful 2024 were little than fractional of what Alberta acquired from the authorities successful 2022.

AESO's study besides says Alberta imported much powerfulness successful 2024 from Montana than it did from British Columbia oregon Saskatchewan, the different 2 jurisdictions connected to Alberta's grid.

Neudorf said Wednesday that interconnectivity — including with Montana — is cardinal to having a reliable electrical grid, which is simply a apical precedence for the authorities arsenic it's tasked the AESO with completing an overhaul of the grid system. That overhaul is expected to beryllium afloat implemented successful 2027.

"It's a changeless taxable of conversation," Neudorf said of grid interconnectivity and the impending regulatory changes.

"We are doing what's champion for Alberta and what's champion for our commercialized relationships with our neighbouring jurisdictions."

Diane Kossman, a spokesperson for AESO, said successful an email Wednesday that the relation encourages Montana-based generators to instrumentality portion successful the engagement enactment it's doing for the strategy overhaul.

Kossman besides said U.S. generators aren't presently being treated unfairly and Alberta is actively looking "to summation the magnitude [of power] that tin beryllium imported from some Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions, including expanding the services and infrastructure indispensable to guarantee that imports tin travel reliably into the province."

When asked if reducing Montana's wide involvement successful Alberta's electrical grid was thing that should beryllium considered amid the ongoing commercialized warfare betwixt Canada and the U.S., Neudorf said helium thought that would beryllium a mistake.

"Tariffs whitethorn travel and spell [and] governments travel and go," helium said. "We privation to marque definite we physique a good, competitory marketplace that serves the needs of Albertans.

"If our authorities oregon our state is inactive faced with tariffs from the United States we tin marque those actions secondary to that, but I don't deliberation it should beryllium embedded wrong the strategy that we're processing and designing close now."