Strengthened cyber security standards approved

Alberta Renewable Energy Procurement is surging as corporate PPAs drive wind and solar growth, with the Pembina Institute and the Business Renewables Centre linking buyers and developers in Alberta's energy-only market near Medicine Hat.

Key Points

A market-led approach where corporations use PPAs to secure wind and solar power from Alberta projects.

✅ Corporate PPAs de-risk projects and lock in clean power.

✅ Alberta's energy-only market enables efficient transactions.

✅ Skilled workforce supports wind, solar, legal, and financing.

Alberta has big potential when it comes to providing renewable energy, advocates say.

The Pembina Institute says the practice of corporations committing to buy renewable energy is just taking off in Canada, and Alberta has both the energy sector and the skilled workforce to provide it.

Earlier this week, a company owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett announced a large new wind farm near Medicine Hat. It has a buyer for the power.

Sara Hastings-Simon, director of the Pembina's Business Renewables Centre, says this is part of a trend.

"We're talking about the practice of corporate institutions purchasing renewables to meet their own electricity demand. And this is a really well-established driver for renewable energy development in the U.S.," she said. "You may be hearing headlines like Google, Apple and others that are buying renewables and we're helping to bring this practice to Canada."

The Business Renewables Centre (BRC) is a not-for-profit working to accelerate corporate and institutional procurement of renewables in Canada. The group held its inaugural all members event in Calgary on Thursday.

Hastings-Simon says shareholders and investors are encouraging more use of solar and wind power in Canada.

"We have over 10 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in the pipeline that are ready for buyers. And so we see multinational companies coming to Canada to start to procure here, as well as Canadian companies understanding that this is an opportunity for them as well," Hastings-Simon said.

"It's really exciting to see business interests driving renewable energy development."

Sara Hastings-Simon is the director of the Pembina Institute's Business Renewables Centre, which seeks to build up Alberta's renewable energy industry. (Mike Symington/CBC)

Hastings-Simon says renewable procurement could help dispel the narrative that it's all about oil and gas in Alberta by highlighting Alberta as a powerhouse for both green energy and fossil fuels in Canada.

She says the practice started with a handful of tech companies in the U.S. and has become more mainstream there, even as Canada remains a solar laggard to some observers, with more and more large companies wanting to reduce their energy footprint.

He says his U.S.-based organization has been working for years to speed up and expand the renewables market for companies that want to address their own sustainability.

"We try and make that a little bit easier by building out a community that can help to really reinforce each other, share lessons learned, best practices and then drive for transactions to have actual material impact worldwide," he said.

"We're really excited to be working with the Pembina group and the BRC Canada team," he said. "We feel our best value for this is just to support them with our experiences and lessons. They've been basically doing the same thing for many years helping to grow and grow and cultivate the market."

Porter says Alberta's market is more than ready.

"There are some precedent transactions already so people know it can work," he said. "The way Alberta is structured, being an energy-only market is useful. And I think that there is a strong ecosystem of both budget developers and service providers … that can really help these transactions get over the line."

As procurement ramps up, Hastings-Simon says Alberta already has the skilled workers needed to fill renewable energy jobs across the province.

"We have a lot of the knowledge that's needed, and that's everybody from the construction down through the legal and financing — all those pieces of building big projects," she said. "We are seeing increasing interest in people that want to become involved in that industry, and so there is increasing demand for training in things like solar power installation and wind technicians."

Hastings-Simon predicts an increase in demand for both the services and the workers.

"As this industry ramps up, we're going to need to have more workers that are active in those areas," she said. "So I think we can see a very nice increase — both the demand and the number of folks that are able to work in this field."

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UK Energy Network Profits are under scrutiny as Ofgem price controls, Citizens Advice claims, and National Grid margins spark debate over monopolies, allowed returns, consumer bills, rebates, and future investment under tougher regulation.

Key Points

UK Energy Network Profits are returns set by Ofgem for regulated grid operators, shaping consumer bills and investment

✅ Ofgem sets allowed returns for monopoly networks via price controls

✅ Dispute over interest rates, bond yields, and risk premiums

✅ Reforms proposed: shorter controls, tougher investor incentives

Companies that run Britain’s electricity and gas networks, including National Grid, are making “eye-watering” profits at the expense of households, according to a well-known consumer group.

Citizens Advice believes £7.5bn in “unjustified” profits should be returned to consumers who pay for network costs via their electricity and gas bills, with parallels seen in a deferred BC Hydro costs report abroad, although its figures have been contested by the energy industry and regulator.

Ownership of electricity and gas networks came under the spotlight in the run-up to June’s general election, after the Labour party said in its manifesto it would bring both national and regional grid infrastructure to back into public ownership, amid wider debates about grid privatization concerns elsewhere, over time.

Electricity sector privatisation began in 1990 and the gas industry was privatised in 1986. Energy network companies — which own and operate the cables and wires that help deliver electricity and gas to homes and businesses — are in effect monopolies that are regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem evaluates what their costs, including the cost of capital to finance investments, might be over an eight-year “price control” period, similar to determinations like the OEB decision on Hydro One rates in Ontario, Canada. Citizens Advice claims many of the regulator’s calculations for the most recent price control went “considerably in networks’ financial favour”.

It believes assumptions Ofgem made about factors such as the future path of interest rates and returns on government bonds were too generous, with international contrasts like power theft challenges in India illustrating different risk contexts, as was the regulator’s assessment of the risk associated with operating a network company. 

These “generous” assumptions will lead to network companies making average profit margins of 19 per cent and an average return of 10 per cent for their investors at the expense of consumers, Citizens Advice claims in a report published on Wednesday, which recommends a shorter price control period to allow for more accurate forecasting.

“Decisions made by Ofgem have allowed gas and electricity network companies to make sky-high profits that we’ve found are not justified by their performance,” said Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice. Ofgem defended its regulatory regime, saying it helped to cut costs, improve reliability and customer satisfaction. 

“Ofgem has already cut costs to consumers by 6 per cent in the current price control and secured a rebate of over £4.5bn from network companies and is engaging with the industry to deliver further savings, with some regions seeing Ontario electricity rate reductions for businesses as well,” said Dermot Nolan, chief executive of the energy regulator.

Mr Nolan insisted the next price controls would be “tougher for investors”. The current price controls for the gas and electricity transmission networks, plus gas distribution, run until 2021 and until 2023 for local electricity distribution networks.

“While we don’t agree with its modelling and the figures it has produced, the Citizens Advice report raises some important issues about network regulation which will be addressed in the next control,” Mr Nolan said.

The Energy Networks Association, a trade body, refuted the claims of Citizens Advice, insisting that costs had fallen by 17 per cent in real terms since privatisation. The current regulatory framework was established after a public consultation, it said, adding that today’s report repeated several old claims that had previously been rejected by the Competition and Markets Authority.

“Our energy networks are among the most reliable and lowest cost in the world and their performance has never been better. In the next six years energy network companies are forecasted to deliver £45bn of investment in the UK economy,” a spokesman for the networks association added. National Grid said that since 2013 it had generated savings of £460m for bill payers.

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U.S. Residential Electricity Bills rose on stronger demand, inflation, and fuel costs, with higher retail prices, kWh consumption, and extreme weather driving 2022 spikes; forecasts point to stable summer usage and slight price increases.

Key Points

They are average household power costs shaped by prices, kWh use, weather, and upstream fuel costs.

✅ 2022 bills up 13% nominal, 5% real vs. 2021

✅ Retail price rose 11%; consumption up 2% to 907 kWh

✅ Fuel costs to plants up 34%, pressuring rates

In nominal terms, the average monthly electricity bill for residential customers in the United States increased 13% from 2021 to 2022, rising from $121 a month to $137 a month. After adjusting for inflation—which reached 8% in 2022, a 40-year high—electricity bills increased 5%. Last year had the largest annual increase in average residential electricity spending since we began calculating it in 1984. The increase was driven by a combination of more extreme temperatures, which increased U.S. consumption of electricity for both heating and cooling, and higher fuel costs for power plants, which drove up retail electricity prices nationwide.

Residential electricity customers’ monthly electricity bills are based on the amount of electricity consumed and the retail electricity price. Average U.S. monthly electricity consumption per residential customer increased from 886 kilowatthours (kWh) in 2021 to 907 kWh in 2022, even as U.S. electricity sales have declined over the past seven years. Both a colder winter and a hotter summer contributed to the 2% increase in average monthly electricity consumption per residential customer in 2022 because customers used more space heating during the winter and more air conditioning during the summer, with some states, such as Pennsylvania, facing sharp winter rate increases.

Although we don’t directly collect retail electricity prices, we do collect revenues from electricity providers that allow us to determine prices by dividing by consumption, and industry reports show major utilities spending more on electricity delivery than on power production. In 2022, the average U.S. residential retail electricity price was 15.12 cents/kWh, an 11% increase from 13.66 cents/kWh in 2021. After adjusting for inflation, U.S. residential electricity prices went up by 2.5%.

Higher fuel costs for power plants drove the increase in residential retail electricity prices. The cost of fossil fuels—including natural gas prices, coal, and petroleum—delivered to U.S. power plants increased 34%, from $3.82 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2021 to $5.13/MMBtu in 2022. The higher fuel costs were passed along to residential customers and contributed to higher retail electricity prices, and Germany power prices nearly doubled over a year in a related trend.

In the first three months of 2023, the average U.S. residential monthly electricity bill was $133, or 5% higher than for the same time last year, according to data from our Electric Power Monthly. The increase was driven by a 13% increase in the average U.S. residential retail electricity price, which was partly offset by a 7% decrease in average monthly electricity consumption per residential customer, and industry outlooks also see U.S. power demand sliding 1% on milder weather. This summer, we expect that typical household electricity bills will be similar to last year’s, with customers paying about 2% more on average. The slight increase in electricity costs forecast for this summer stems from higher retail electricity prices but similar consumption levels as last summer.
 

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Ukraine Winter Energy Resilience focuses on energy security, grid repairs, renewable power, EU support, heating reliability, electricity imports, and conservation measures to stabilize infrastructure and protect households amid conflict and severe cold.

Key Points

A strategy to secure heat and power via repairs, renewables, imports, and conservation during wartime winter.

✅ Grid repairs and hardening of power plants and transmission lines

✅ Diversified supply: renewables, electricity imports, fuel reserves

✅ Public conservation to cut peak demand and safeguard essential services

As winter approaches, Ukraine is bracing for a challenging season, especially in the energy sector amid global energy instability and price pressures, which has been heavily impacted by the ongoing conflict with Russia. With the weather forecast predicting colder temperatures, the Ukrainian government is ramping up efforts to secure energy supplies and bolster infrastructure, aiming to ensure that citizens have access to heating and electricity during the harsh months ahead.

The Energy Landscape in Ukraine

The conflict has severely disrupted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leading to widespread damage and inefficiencies. Key facilities, including power plants and transmission lines, have been targeted amid energy ceasefire violations reported by both sides, resulting in significant energy shortages. As a response, the government has implemented a series of measures aimed at stabilizing the energy sector, ensuring that the nation can withstand the winter months.

One of the primary strategies has been the repair and reinforcement of energy infrastructure. Officials have prioritized critical facilities that are essential for electricity generation and distribution. Emergency repairs and upgrades are being carried out to restore functionality and improve resilience against potential attacks.

In addition to repairing existing infrastructure, Ukraine is actively seeking to diversify its energy sources. This includes increasing reliance on renewable energy, such as wind and solar, which can be less susceptible to disruption. The shift toward renewables not only enhances energy security and supports moving away from fossil fuels in line with Ukraine's long-term environmental goals.

International Support and Collaboration

Ukraine's challenges have not gone unnoticed on the international stage. Countries and organizations around the world have pledged energy security support to help Ukraine fortify its energy sector. This assistance includes financial aid, technical expertise, and the provision of materials needed for infrastructure repairs.

The European Union, in particular, has been a key ally, providing both immediate and long-term support to Ukraine's energy efforts. The EU's commitment to helping Ukraine transition to a more sustainable energy model, including steps toward ENTSO-E synchronization to bolster grid stability, is reflected in various initiatives aimed at increasing energy efficiency and integrating renewable sources.

Furthermore, international organizations have mobilized resources to assist in the restoration of damaged infrastructure. This collaboration not only enhances Ukraine's energy capabilities but also strengthens ties with global partners, fostering a sense of solidarity amidst the ongoing conflict.

Preparing for Winter Challenges

As temperatures drop, the demand for heating will surge, putting additional pressure on an already strained energy system. To address this, the Ukrainian government is urging citizens to prepare for potential shortages. Officials are promoting energy conservation measures, encouraging households to reduce consumption and use energy more efficiently.

Public awareness campaigns are being launched to educate citizens about the importance of energy saving and the steps they can take to minimize their energy use and prevent outages during peak demand. These initiatives aim to foster a collective sense of responsibility as the nation braces for the winter ahead.

In addition to conservation efforts, the government is exploring alternative energy supplies. This includes negotiating with neighboring countries for electricity imports and enhancing domestic production where feasible. By securing a diverse range of energy sources, Ukraine aims to mitigate the risk of shortages and ensure that essential services remain operational.

The Role of Resilience and Innovation

Despite the challenges, the resilience of the Ukrainian people and their commitment to overcoming adversity shine through. Communities are coming together to support one another, sharing resources and information to help navigate the difficulties of winter.

Innovative solutions are also emerging as part of the response to the energy crisis. Local initiatives aimed at promoting energy efficiency and the use of alternative energy sources are gaining traction. From community-led solar projects to energy-efficient building practices, Ukrainians are finding ways to adapt and thrive even in the face of uncertainty.

Looking Ahead

As Ukraine prepares for the winter months, the focus remains on ensuring energy security and maintaining the functionality of critical infrastructure. While challenges loom, the collective efforts of the government, international partners, and citizens demonstrate a strong commitment to resilience and adaptation.

In conclusion, the upcoming winter presents significant challenges for Ukraine's energy sector, yet the nation's determination to secure its energy future remains unwavering. With ongoing repairs, international support, and community innovation, Ukraine is working diligently to navigate the complexities of this winter, aiming to emerge stronger and more resilient in the face of adversity. The resilience shown today will be crucial as the country continues to confront the ongoing impacts of conflict and seeks to build a sustainable future.

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Hydro One Account Customization lets Ontario customers pick billing due dates, enable balanced billing, get early high usage notifications, monitor electricity consumption, and receive outage alerts, offering flexibility during COVID-19.

Key Points

A flexible toolkit to set due dates, balance bills, get usage alerts, and track electricity.

✅ Pick your billing due date for better cash flow

✅ Balanced billing smooths seasonal usage spikes

✅ Early high usage and outage alerts via text or email

Hydro One announced it is providing its customers with the flexibility to customize their account. Customers can choose their own billing due date, flatten usage spikes from temperature fluctuations through balanced billing and the Ultra-Low Overnight Price Plan, and monitor their electricity consumption by signing up for early high usage notifications.

Research shows that Ontario electricity customers want more choice and flexibility (CNW Group/Hydro One Inc.)
"Being in-tune with our customers' needs is more important than ever. As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, customers tell us that choice and flexibility, alongside electricity relief, will help them during this difficult time," said Jason Fitzsimmons, Chief Corporate Affairs and Customer Care Officer, Hydro One. "As a customer-driven organization, we have an important responsibility to support customers with relief, flexibility and choice."

According to recent research conducted by Angus Reid, 78 per cent of Ontario electricity customers said balanced billing would help them better manage their finances, even as peak hydro rates remained unchanged for many self-isolating customers. Balanced billing flattens out the spikes in electricity usage that commonly occurs in the summer due to air conditioning use and in the winter due to heating.

The research also found that 72 per cent of customers would like to pick their own due date to better manage their finances. This feature is now included in Hydro One's new customization bundle, which will be shared with customers through an awareness campaign. Other customization tools include alerts when electricity usage falls outside of the customer's normal pattern, the ability to report outages online and the ability to receive text messages or emails when outages occur. Customers can visit www.HydroOne.com/Choice to learn more.

"Customers can pick and choose the tools that work best for them. We are now able to offer a suite of features built for any lifestyle as our employees support Ontario's COVID-19 response across the province," said Fitzsimmons.

In addition to these customization options, Hydro One has also developed a number of customer support measures during COVID-19, including a Pandemic Relief Fund to offer payment flexibility and financial assistance to customers. The company is also extending its ban on electricity disconnections to ensure that no customer is disconnected at a time when support is needed most. More information about Hydro One's Pandemic Relief Program can be found at www.HydroOne.com/PandemicRelief. Customers can continue to contact Hydro One to determine individual payment plans and determine financial assistance programs available to meet their needs, especially as disconnection pressures can arise for some households.

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Ontario Electricity Demand 2020 shows a rare decline amid COVID-19, with higher residential peak load, lower commercial usage, hot-weather air conditioning, nuclear baseload constraints, and smart meter data shaping grid operations and forecasting.

Key Points

It refers to 2020 power use in Ontario: overall demand fell, while residential peaks rose and commercial loads dropped.

✅ Peak load shifted to homes; commercial usage declined.

✅ Hot summers raised peaks; overall annual demand still fell.

✅ Smart meters aid forecasting; grid must balance nuclear baseload.

Demand for electricity in Ontario last year fell to levels rarely seen in decades amid shifts in usage patterns caused by pandemic measures, with Ottawa’s electricity consumption dropping notably, new data show.

The decline came despite a hot summer that had people rushing to crank up the air conditioning at home, the province’s power management agency said, even as the government offered electricity relief to families and small businesses.

“We do have this very interesting shift in who’s using the energy,” said Chuck Farmer, senior director of power system planning with the Independent Electricity System Operator.

“Residential users are using more electricity at home than we thought they would and the commercial consumers are using less.”

The onset of the pandemic last March prompted stay-home orders, businesses to close, and a shuttering of live sports, entertainment and dining out. Social distancing and ongoing restrictions, even as the first wave ebbed and some measures eased, nevertheless persisted and kept many people home as summer took hold and morphed into winter, while the province prepared to extend disconnect moratoriums for residential customers.

System operator data show peak electricity demand rose during a hot summer spell to 24,446 megawatts _ the highest since 2013. Overall, however, Ontario electricity demand last year was the second lowest since 1988, the operator said.

In all, Ontario used 132.2 terawatt-hours of power in 2020, a decline of 2.9 per cent from 2019.

With more people at home during the lockdown, winter residential peak demand has climbed 13 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, even as Hydro One made no cut in peak rates for self-isolating customers, while summer peak usage was up 19 per cent.

“The peaks are getting higher than we would normally expect them to be and this was caused by residential customers _ they’re home when you wouldn’t expect them to be home,” Farmer said.

Matching supply and demand _ a key task of the system operator _ is critical to meeting peak usage and ensuring a stable grid, and the operator has contingency plans with some key staff locked down at work sites to maintain operations during COVID-19, because electricity cannot be stored easily. It is also difficult to quickly raise or lower the output from nuclear-powered generators, which account for the bulk of electricity in the province, as demand fluctuates.

READ MORE: Ontario government extends off-peak electricity rates to Feb. 22

Life patterns have long impacted overall usage. For example, demand used to typically climb around 10 p.m. each night as people tuned into national television newscasts. Livestreaming has flattened that bump, while more energy-efficient lighting led to a drop in provincial demand over the holiday season.

The pandemic has now prompted further intra-day shifts in usage. Fewer people are getting up in the morning and powering up at home before powering down and rushing off to work or school. The summer saw more use of air conditioners earlier than normal after-work patterns.

Weather has always been a key driver of demand for power, accounting for example for the record 27,005 megawatts of usage set on a brutally hot Aug. 1, 2006. Similarly, a mild winter and summer led to an overall power usage drop in 2017.

Still, the profound social changes prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic _ and whether some will be permanent _ have complicated demand forecasting.

“Work patterns used to be much more predictable,” the agency said. “The pandemic has now added another element of variability for electricity demand forecasting.”

Some employees sent home to work have returned to their offices and other workplaces, and many others are likely do so once the pandemic recedes. However, some larger companies have indicated that working from home will be long term.

“Companies like Facebook and Shopify have already stated their intention to make work from home a more permanent arrangement,” the operator said. “This is something our near-term forecasters would take into account when preparing for daily operation of the grid.”

Aggregated data from better smart meters, which show power usage throughout the day, is one method of improving forecasting accuracy, the operator said.

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