A lineman reaches for a lift from a helicopter during work on power lines near Carstairs, Alta., on July 23, 2014.Alberta’s electricity act is unfair, undermines reliable power supplies, and must be changed to deal with widespread problems that have plagued the grid this year, Suncor Energy Inc.
Power importers, however, are under no such obligation; they can offer any amount of megawatts to the market they please, or none at all. Grid alerts are issued when the power system is under stress and the AESO is preparing to use emergency reserves to meet demand. For days, the AESOas the grid struggled during a brutal cold snap. The provincial government took the unprecedented step of triggering the emergency alert system, and Albertans’ cellphones and televisions blared warnings to residents telling them to limit electricity use immediately.
“Because importers are not committed to Alberta there is no guarantee that they will submit offers in any period, including critical periods,” it said. The price of power in Alberta at any given time is called the pool price. It’s intended to pay generators for the delivered energy and to help companies recover the cost of investment in infrastructure that will provide power to Alberta’s grid. By not imposing a tariff nor a commitment obligation on importers, but allowing them to receive the pool price, importers are being paid as if they have provided a capacity commitment, Suncor said.