KansasÂ’ reliance on coal for power shows in emissions

CER Interactive Electricity Bill Tool compares provincial electricity prices, fees, taxes, and usage. Explore household appliance costs, hydroelectric generation, and consumption trends across Canada with interactive calculators and a province-by-province breakdown.

Key Points

An online CER report with calculators comparing electricity prices, fees, and usage to explain household energy costs.

✅ Province-by-province bill, price, and consumption comparison

✅ Calculator for appliance and electronics energy costs

✅ Explains fees, taxes, regulation, and generation sources

Canadians have a new way to assess their electricity bill in a new, interactive online report released by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).

The report titled What is in a residential electricity bill? features a province-to-province comparison of electricity bills, generation and consumption. It also explains electricity prices across the country, including how Calgary electricity prices have changed, allowing people to understand why costs vary depending on location, fees, regulation and taxes.  

Learn how fees and usage impacts your electricity bill in new online CER tool
Interactive tools allow people to calculate the cost of household appliances and electronic use for each province and territory, and to understand how Ontario rate increases may affect monthly bills. For example, an individual can use the tools to find out that leaving a TV on for 24-hours in Quebec costs $5.25 per month, while that same TV on for a whole day would cost $12.29 per month in Saskatchewan, $20.49 per month in the Northwest Territories, and $15.30 per month in Nova Scotia.

How Canadians use energy varies as much as how provinces and territories produce it, especially in regions like Nunavut where unique conditions influence costs. Millions of Canadians rely on electricity to power their household appliances, charge their electronics, and heat their homes. Provinces with abundant hydro-electric resources like Quebec, B.C., Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador use electricity for home heating and tend to consume the most electricity.

By gathering data from various sources, this report is the first Canadian publication that features interactive tools to allow for a province-by-province comparison of electricity bills while highlighting different elements within an electricity bill, a helpful context as Canada faces a critical supply crunch in the years ahead.

The CER monitors energy markets and assesses Canadian energy requirements and trends, including clean electricity regulations developments that shape pricing. This report is part of a portfolio of publications on energy supply, demand and infrastructure that the CER publishes regularly as part of its ongoing market monitoring.

"No matter where you go in the country, Canadians want to know how much they pay for power and why, especially amid price spikes in Alberta this year," says lead author Colette Craig. "This innovative, interactive report really explains electricity bills to help everyone understand electricity pricing and consumption across Canada."

Quick Facts

• Quebec ranks first in electricity consumption per capita at 21.0 MW.h, followed by Saskatchewan at 20.0 MW.h, Newfoundland and Labrador at 19.3 MW.h.
• About 95% of Quebec's electricity is produced from hydroelectricity.
• Provinces that use electricity for home heating tend to consume the most electricity.
• Canada's largest consuming sector for electricity was industrial at 238 TW.h. The residential and commercial sectors consumed 168 TW.h and 126 TW.h, respectively.
• In 2018, Canada produced 647.7 terawatt hours (TW.h) of electricity. More than half of the electricity in Canada (61%) is generated from hydro sources. The remainder is produced from a variety of sources, such as fossil fuels (natural gas and petroleum), nuclear, wind, coal, biomass, solar.
• Canada is a net exporter of electricity. In 2019, net exports to the U.S. electricity market totaled 47.0 TW.h.
• The total value of Canada's electricity exports was $2.5 billion Canadian dollars and the value of imports was $0.6 billion Canadian dollars, resulting in 2019 net exports of $1.9 billion.
• All regions in Canada are reflected in this report but it does not include data that reflects the COVID-19 lockdown and its effects on residential electricity bills.
   

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UK Wind Power Surpasses Gas as offshore wind and solar drive record electricity generation, National Grid milestones, and net zero progress, despite grid capacity bottlenecks, onshore planning reforms, demand from heat pumps and transport electrification.

Key Points

A milestone where wind turbines generated more UK electricity than gas, advancing progress toward a net zero grid.

✅ Offshore wind delivered the majority of UK wind generation

✅ Grid connection delays stall billions in green projects

✅ Planning reforms may restart onshore wind development

Wind turbines have generated more electricity than gas, as wind becomes the main source for the first time in the UK.

In the first three months of this year a third of the country's electricity came from wind farms, as the UK set a wind generation record that underscored the trend, research from Imperial College London has shown.

National Grid has also confirmed that April saw a record period of solar energy generation, and wind and solar outproduced nuclear in earlier milestones.

By 2035 the UK aims for all of its electricity to have net zero emissions, after a 2019 stall in low-carbon generation highlighted the challenge.

"There are still many hurdles to reaching a completely fossil fuel-free grid, but wind out-supplying gas for the first time is a genuine milestone event," said Iain Staffell, energy researcher at Imperial College and lead author of the report.

The research was commissioned by Drax Electrical Insights, which is funded by Drax energy company.

The majority of the UK's wind power has come from offshore wind farms, and the country leads the G20 for wind's electricity share according to recent analyses. Installing new onshore wind turbines has effectively been banned since 2015 in England.

Under current planning rules, companies can only apply to build onshore wind turbines on land specifically identified for development in the land-use plans drawn up by local councils. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed in December to relax these planning restrictions to speed up development.

Scientists say switching to renewable power is crucial to curb the impacts of climate change, which are already being felt, including in the UK, which last year recorded its hottest year since records began.

Solar and wind have seen significant growth in the UK, with wind surpassing coal in 2016 as a milestone. In the first quarter of 2023, 42% of the UK's electricity came from renewable energy, with 33% coming from fossil fuels like gas and coal.

But BBC research revealed on Thursday that billions of pounds' worth of green energy projects are stuck on hold due to delays with getting connections to the grid, as peak power prices also climbed amid system pressures.

Some new solar and wind sites are waiting up to 10 to 15 years to be connected because of a lack of capacity in the electricity system.

And electricity only accounts for 18% of the UK's total power needs. There are many demands for energy which electricity is not meeting, such as heating our homes, manufacturing and transport.

Currently the majority of UK homes use gas for their heating - the government is seeking to move households away from gas boilers and on to heat pumps which use electricity.

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Brazil Energy Emergency Loan Package aims to bolster utilities via BNDES as coronavirus curbs electricity demand. Aneel and the Mines and Energy Ministry weigh measures while Eletrobras privatization and auctions face delays.

Key Points

An emergency plan supporting Brazilian utilities via BNDES and banks during coronavirus demand slumps and payment risks.

✅ Modeled on 2014-2015 sector loans via BNDES and private banks

✅ Addresses cash flow from lower demand and bill nonpayment

✅ Auctions and Eletrobras privatization delayed amid outbreak

Brazil’s government is considering an emergency loan package for energy distributors struggling with lower energy use and facing lost revenues because of the coronavirus outbreak, echoing strains seen elsewhere such as Germany's utility troubles during the energy crisis, an industry group told Reuters.

Marcos Madureira, president of Brazilian energy distributors association Abradee, said the package being negotiated by companies and the government could involve loans from state development bank BNDES or a pool of banks, but that the value of the loans and other details was not yet settled.

Also, Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry is indefinitely postponing projects to auction off energy transmission and generation assets planned for this year because of the coronavirus, even as the need for electricity during COVID-19 remained critical, it said in the Official Gazette.

The coronavirus outbreak will also delay the privatization of state-owned utility Eletrobras, its chief executive officer said on Monday.

The potential loan package under discussion would resemble a similar measure in 2014 and 2015 that offered about 22 billion reais ($4.2 billion) in loans to the sector as Brazil was entering its deepest recession on record, and drawing comparisons to a proposed Texas market bailout after a winter storm, Madureira said.

Public and private banks including BNDES, Caixa Economica Federal, Itau Unibanco and Banco Bradesco participated in those loans.

Three sources involved in the discussions said on condition of anonymity that the Mines and Energy Ministry and energy regulator Aneel were considering the matter.

Aneel declined to comment. The Mines and Energy Ministry and BNDES did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Energy distributors worry that reduced electricity demand during COVID-19 could result in deep revenue losses.

The coronavirus has led to widespread lockdowns of non-essential businesses in Brazil, while citizens are being told to stay home. That is causing lost income for many hourly and informal workers in Brazil, who could be unable to pay their electricity bills, raising risks of pandemic power shut-offs for vulnerable households.

The government sees a loan package as a way to stave off a potential chain of defaults in the sector, a move discussed alongside measures such as a Brazil tax strategy on energy prices, one of the sources said.

On a conference call with investors about the company’s latest earnings, Eletrobras CEO Wilson Ferreira Jr. said privatization would be delayed, without giving any more details on the projected time scale.

The largest investors in Brazil’s energy distribution sector include Italy’s Enel, Spain’s Iberdrola via its subsidiary Neoenergia and China’s State Grid via CPFL Energia, with Chinese interest also evidenced by CTG's bid for EDP, as well as local players Energisa e Equatorial Energia. 

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EasyPower Webinars deliver expert training on electrical power systems, covering arc flash, harmonics, grounding, overcurrent coordination, NEC and IEEE 1584 updates, with on-demand videos and email certificates for continuing education credits.

Key Points

EasyPower Webinars are expert-led power systems trainings with CE credit details and on-demand access.

✅ Arc flash, harmonics, and grounding fundamentals with live demos

✅ NEC 2020 and IEEE 1584 updates for compliance and safety

✅ CE credits with post-webinar email documentation

We've ramped up webinars to help your learning while you might be working from home, and similar live online fire alarm training options are widely available. As usual, you will receive an email the day after the webinar which will include the details most states need for you to earn continuing education credit, amid a broader grid warning during the pandemic from regulators.

EasyPower's well known webinar series covers a variety of topics regarding electrical power systems. Below you will see our webinars scheduled through the next few months, reflecting ongoing sector investments in the future of work across the electricity industry.

In addition, there are more than 150 videos that were recorded from past webinars in our EasyPower Video Library. The topics of these videos include arc flash training, short circuit, protective device coordination, power flow, harmonics, DC systems, grounding, and many others.

AUGUST WEBINARS

Active & Passive Harmonic Filters in EasyPower

By Tao Yang, Ph.D, PE, at EasyPower

In this webinar, Tao Yang, Ph.D, PE, from EasyPower provides a refresher course on fundamental concepts of harmonics study and the EasyPower Harmonics module. He describes the two major harmonics filters, both active and passive, and their implementation in the EasyPower Harmonics module. As passive filters are widely used in the industry, he covers four kinds of typical passive filters: notch, first order, second order, and C-type filters, including their implementation in EasyPower and their tuning processes. He uses live examples to demonstrate the modeling and parameter tuning for both active and passive filters using simple EasyPower cases.

Date: Thursday, August 13, 2020
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1359680676441129997

Cracking the Code for Arc-Flash Mitigation

By Mark Pollock at Littelfuse

The National Electrical Code (NEC) outlines several arc-flash mitigation options, aligning with broader arc flash training insights across the industry. This presentation, given by Mark Pollock at Littelfuse, reviews the arc-flash mitigation options from the NEC 2020, and some updates to the IEEE 1584-2018 standard. In addition to understanding the codes, we’ll discuss the return on investment for the various mitigation options and the importance of arc-flash assessments in your facility. 

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2020
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/107117029724512527

Ground Fault Coordination in EasyPower

By Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower

The PowerProtector™ module in EasyPower simplifies the process of coordinating protective devices. In this refresher webinar, Jim Chastain demonstrates the procedure to coordinate ground fault protection for both resistance-grounded and hard-grounded systems.

Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Time: 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Pacific
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/561389055546364429

SEPTEMBER WEBINARS

Overcurrent Coordination and Protection Basics

By James Onsager and Namrata Asarpota at S&C Electric

Coordination of overcurrent protective devices is necessary to limit interruptions to the smallest portion of the power system in the event of an overload or short-circuit. This webinar, given by James Onsager and Namrata Asarpota at S&C Electric, goes over the basics of Time Current Curves (TCCs), types of overcurrent protective devices (for both low-voltage and medium-voltage systems), and how to coordinate between them. Protection of common types of equipment such as transformers, cables and motors according the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70, NEC) is also discussed, alongside related fire alarm training online resources available to practitioners. 

Date: Thursday, September 3, 2020
Time: 10:00 AM -11:00 AM Pacific
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6345420550218629133

Static Discharge Awareness and Explosion Protection

By Christopher Coughlan at Newson Gale, a Hoerbiger Safety Solutions Company

For any person responsible for the safety of employees, colleagues, plant equipment and plant property, one of the most potentially confusing aspects of providing a safe operating environment is understanding and safeguarding again static discharge, with industry leadership in worker safety highlighting best practices. In this webinar given by Christopher Coughlan at Newson Gale, a Hoerbiger Safety Solutions Company, he discusses how to determine if your site’s manufacturing or handling processes have the potential to discharge static sparks into flammable or combustible atmospheres. 

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020
Time: 10:00 AM -11:00 AM Pacific
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7225333317600833296

XGSLab New Feature - Seasonal Analysis For Grounding Systems

By David Lewis, P.E, Electrical Engineer, Grounding and Power Systems at EasyPower

In regions where the frost depth meets or exceeds the depth of a grounding system, the grounding system’s performance may be dramatically reduced, possibly creating hazardous conditions. The latest XGSLab release 9.5 provides a powerful new tool to analyze grounding system performance that considers the seasonal variation in soil characteristics. In this webinar, given by David Lewis, an electrical engineer at EasyPower, we describe the effect that seasonal variation can have on a grounding system and we step you through the use of the Seasonal Analysis tool. 

Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2020
Time: 8:00 AM -8:30 AM Pacific
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6805488101896212751

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Ontario-Quebec Electricity Trade Agreement ends as Ontario pivots to IESO procurement, hydropower alternatives, natural gas capacity, and energy auctions, impacting grid reliability, power imports, and GHG emissions across both provincial markets.

Key Points

A seven-year power import pact; Ontario will end it, shifting to IESO procurement and gas capacity.

✅ Seasonal hydropower exchange of 2.3 TWh annually.

✅ IESO projects Quebec supply constraints by decade end.

✅ Ontario adds gas, auctions; near-term sector GHGs rise.

The Ontario government does not plan to renew the Ontario-Quebec electricity trade agreement, Radio-Canada is reporting.

The seven-year contract, which expires next year, aims to reduce Ontario's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by buying 2.3 Terawatt-hours of electricity from Quebec annually — that corresponds to about seven per cent of Hydro-Quebec's average annual exports.

The announcement comes as the provincially owned Quebec utility continues its legal battle over a plan to export power to Massachusetts.

The Ontario agreement has guaranteed a seasonal exchange of energy, since Quebec has a power surplus in summer, and the province's electricity needs increase in the winter. Ontario plans on exercising its last and only option in the summer of 2026, for a block of 500 megawatts.

The office of the Ontario Minister of Energy Todd Smith says the province will save money by relying "on a competitive procurement process" instead, amid debates over clean, affordable electricity policy in Ontario. And, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the equivalent of Hydro-Quebec in Ontario, added that, at any rate, Quebec is expected to "run out of electricity in the middle or at the end of the decade."

During the Quebec election campaign, Premier Francois Legault said his province needed to increase hydroelectricity production because he is expecting demand for hydroelectricity to increase by an additional 100 terawatt-hours in the coming decades — half of Hydro-Quebec's current annual output.

Coalition Avenir Quebec pitches more hydro dams to Quebec voters
The provinces will still continue to buy and sell power, reaching deals through annual energy auctions.

Eloise Edom, an associate researcher at Polytechnique Montreal's Institut de l'energie Trottier, says the announcement came as somewhat of a surprise because "we're still talking about a lot of energy."

Hydro-Quebec refused to comment on "the SIERE [Independent Electricity System Operator]'s intentions for the agreement, which ends next year," said company spokesperson Lynn St-Laurent.

No green options
Yet Ontario is running out of electricity, even as questions persist about whether it is embracing clean power to meet demand, in part because of plans to refurbish nuclear reactors at the Bruce and Darlington generator stations.

Windsor has already lost out on a $2.5-billion factory because the region is short of electricity for new industrial loads. And by 2025, Toronto will run out of power for the electrification of its transit system, according to the latest estimates from the IESO.

The Ford government recently announced that it hopes to extend the life of the Pickering nuclear station amid ongoing debate. It is also evaluating the possibility of increasing hydroelectricity production at its existing dams.

For now, Ontario is banking on its natural gas plants to meet demand, which have won most recent IESO tenders for contracts running until 2026. Last Friday, the province announced that it was going to buy an additional 1,500 megawatts by 2027.

"The [Ontario energy] minister's expectations may be that the increase in natural gas prices is temporary and that it will fade," energy economist Jean-Thomas Bernard said. "With this in mind, he probably does not want to sign a long-term contract [with Hydro-Quebec] and prefers to buy electricity on a day-to-day basis and through calls for tenders."

If the Quebec deal expires, Ontario, Canada's second highest GHG emitter, would have to increase its emissions for the sector, at least in the medium term, with electricity getting dirtier as gas fills the gap.

Last year, the IESO found that it would be very difficult to set a moratorium on natural gas before 2030. The IESO must produce a final report on the subject for the energy minister by the end of November.

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Energy Storage for Microgrids enables renewables integration via ESS, boosting resilience and reliability while supporting solar PV and wind, innovative financing, and business models, with strong growth forecast across Asia-Pacific and North America.

Key Points

Systems that store energy in microgrids to integrate renewables, boost resilience, and optimize distributed power.

✅ Integrates solar PV and wind with stable, dispatchable output

✅ Reduces costs via new financing and service business models

✅ Expands reliable power for remote, grid-constrained regions

A new report from Navigant Research examines the global market for energy storage for microgrids (ESMG), providing an analysis of trends and market dynamics in the context of the evolving digital grid landscape, with forecasts for capacity and revenue that extend through 2026.

Interest in energy storage-enabled microgrids is growing alongside an increase in solar PV and wind deployments. Although not required for microgrids to operate, energy storage systems (ESSs) have emerged as an increasingly valuable component of distributed energy networks, including virtual power plants that coordinate distributed assets, because of their ability to effectively integrate renewable generation.

“There are several key drivers resulting in the growth of energy storage-enabled microgrids globally, including the desire to improve the resilience of power supply both for individual customers and the entire grid, the need to expand reliable electricity service to new areas, rising electricity prices, and innovations in business models and financing,” says Alex Eller, research analyst with Navigant Research. “Innovations in business models and financing will likely play a key role in the expansion of the ESMG market during the coming years.”

One example of microgrid deployment for resilience is the SDG&E microgrid in Ramona built to help communities prepare for peak wildfire season.

According to the report, the most successful companies in this industry will be those that can unlock the potential of new business models to reduce the risk and upfront costs to customers. This is particularly true in Asia Pacific and North America, which are projected to be the largest regional markets for new ESMG capacity by far, a trend underscored by California's push for grid-scale batteries to stabilize the grid.

The report, “Market Data: Energy Storage for Microgrids,” outlines the key market drivers and barriers within the global ESMG market. The study provides an analysis of specific trends, including evolving grid edge trends, and market dynamics for each major world region to illustrate how different markets are taking shape. Global ESMG forecasts for capacity and revenue, segmented by region, technology, and market segment, extend through 2026. The report also briefly examines the major technology issues related to ESSs for microgrids.

Google made energy storage news recently when its parent company Alphabet announced it is hoping to revolutionize renewable energy storage using vats of salt and antifreeze. Alphabet’s secretive research lab, simply named “X,” is developing a system for storing renewable energy that would otherwise be wasted. The project, named “Malta,” is hoping its energy storage systems “has the potential to last longer than lithium-ion batteries and compete on price with new hydroelectric plants and other existing clean energy storage methods, according to X executives and researchers,” reports Bloomberg.

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