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National Electricity Market review calls for clear coal-fired closure schedules to safeguard energy security, backing a technology-agnostic clean energy and low emissions target with tradeable certificates to stabilise prices and support a smoother transition.

Key Points

A review proposing orderly coal closures and a technology-agnostic clean energy target to protect grid reliability.

✅ Mandates advance notice of coal plant closure schedules

✅ Supports clean energy and low emissions target with certificates

✅ Aims to stabilise prices and ensure system security

THE Latrobe Valley’s coal-fired power stations could be forced to give details of planned closures well in advance to help governments avoid major threats to electricity supply, amid an AEMO warning on reduced reserves across the grid.

The much-anticipated review of the national electricity market, to be released on Friday, will outline the need for clear schedules for the closure of coal-fired power stations to avoid rushed decisions on ­energy security.

It is believed the Turnbull government, which has ruled out taxpayer-funded power plants in the current energy debate, will move toward either a clean-energy or a low-emissions target that aims to bolster power security while reducing household bills and emissions.

The system, believed to be also favoured by industry, would likely provide a more stable transition to clean energy by engaging with the just transition concept seen in other markets, because coal-fired power would not be driven out of the market as quickly.

Sources said that would lead to greater investment in the energy sector, a surplus of production and, as seen in Alberta's shift to gas and price cap debate driving market changes, a cut in prices.

It is likely most coal-fired power stations, such as Yallourn and Loy Yang in the Latrobe Valley, would see out their “natural lives” under the government’s favoured system, rather than be forced out of business by an EIS.

The new target would be separate from the Renewable Energy Target which have come under fire because of ad hoc federal and state targets.

The Herald Sun has been told the policy would provide tradeable clean-energy certificates for low-emissions generation, such as wind, solar and gas and coal which used carbon capture and storage technology.

Energy retailers and large industrial users would then be ­required to source a mandated amount of certified clean power.

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has repeatedly said any solution must be “technology agnostic” including gas, renewable energy and coal, amid ongoing debates over whether to save or close nuclear plants such as the Three Mile Island debate in other markets.

Energy Networks Australia’s submission to the review, chaired by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, acknowledged the challenges in identifying potential generation closures, particularly with uncertain and poorly integrated state and national carbon policy settings.

The group said given the likelihood of further closures of coal fired generation units a new mechanism was needed to better manage changes in the generation mix, well in advance of the closure of the plant.

It said the implications for system stability were “too significant” to rely on the past short-term closures, such as Hazelwood, particularly when the amount of power generated could drive energy security to “tipping point”.

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NB Power seasonal electricity rates face backlash amid smart grid delays, meter reading limits, and billing dispute risks, as consultants recommend AMI smart meters for accurate winter-summer pricing, time-of-use alignment, and consumer protection.

Key Points

NB Power seasonal electricity rates raise winter prices and lower summer prices to match costs, using accurate AMI metering.

✅ Requires midnight meter reads without AMI, increasing billing disputes.

✅ Shifts costs to electric-heat homes during high winter demand.

✅ Recommended to wait for smart grid AMI for time-of-use accuracy.

A consultant hired by NB Power is warning of significant consumer "backlash" if the utility is made to establish seasonal rates for electricity, as seen in B.C. and Quebec smart meter disputes among customers.

The consultant's report even suggests customers might have to read their own power meters at midnight twice a year — on April Fool's and Halloween — to make the system work.

"Virtually all bills will have errors ... billing disputes can be expected to increase, as seen in a $666 smart meter bill in N.S. that raised concerns, possibly dramatically, and there will be no means of resolving disputes in a satisfactory way," reads a report by Elenchus Research Associates that was commissioned by NB Power and filed with the Energy and Utilities Board on Thursday.

NB Power is in the middle of a year-long "rate design" review ordered by the EUB that is focused in part on whether the utility should charge lower prices for electricity in the summer and higher prices in the winter to better reflect the actual cost of serving customers.

New network of meters needed

Elenchus was asked to study how that might work but the company is arguing against any switch until NB Power upgrades its entire network of power meters, given old meters in N.B. have raised concerns.

Elenchus said seasonal rates require an accurate reading of every customer's power meter at midnight on March 31 and again on Oct. 31, the dates when power rates would switch between winter and summer prices.

A consultant's report says NB Power doesn't have the manpower to properly read meters if it brings in seasonal rates. (CBC)

But NB Power does not have the sophisticated infrastructure in place to read meters remotely, or the manpower to visit every customer location on the same day, so Elenchus said the utility would have to guesstimate bills or rely on the technical savvy and honesty of customers themselves.

"Customers could be asked to read their own meters late in the day on March 31 (and October 31)," suggested the report. "Aside from the obvious inconvenience and impracticality of that approach, NB Power would have no means of verifying the customers' meter reads."

Residential customers would see hike

Another looming controversy with seasonal rates is that it would raise costs for residential customers, especially to those who heat with electricity, a pressure seen with a 14% rate increase in Nova Scotia recently.

Elenchus estimated seasonal rates would add nearly $6 million to the cost of residential bills overall, with the largest increases flowing to those with baseboard heat.

Electric heat customers consume the majority of their power during the five months that would have the highest prices and Elenchus said that is another reason to wait for better power meters before proceeding.

NB Power has an ambitious plan to bring in a new meter system, and the consultant's report recommends waiting for that to happen before switching to seasonal rates. (Google Street View)

NB Power has an ambitious plan to upgrade meters and related infrastructure as part of its transformation to a "smart grid," but it is a multi-year plan.

Once in place the utility would be able to read meters remotely hour to hour, allowing power rates to be adjusted for times of the day and days of the week as well as seasonally.

Consumers will also have in-home pricing and consumption displays to help them manage their bills.

Elenchus said waiting for those meters will give electric heat customers a chance to avoid higher seasonal costs by letting them shift power consumption to lower-priced parts of the day.

"The introduction of seasonal rates would be more acceptable once AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) has been deployed," concludes the report.

A final hearing on NB Power's rate design, where seasonal rates and other changes will be considered, amid a power market overhaul debate in Alberta that industry is watching, is scheduled for next April.

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Toronto EV Discovery Centre offers hands-on EV education, on-site test drives, and guidance on Ontario incentives, rebates, charging, and dealerships, helping drivers switch to electric vehicles and cut emissions through provincial climate programs.

Key Points

A public hub in Toronto for EV education, test drives, and guidance on Ontario incentives, rebates, and charging options.

✅ Free entry; neutral info on EV models and charging.

✅ On-site test drives; referrals to local dealerships.

✅ Backed by Ontario's cap-and-trade, utilities, and partners.

A centre where people can learn about electric vehicles and take them for a test drive has opened in Toronto, as similar EV events in Regina highlight growing public interest.

Ontario's Environment Minister Glen Murray says the Plug'n Drive Electric Vehicle Discovery Centre is considered the first of its kind and his government has pitched in $1 million to support it, alongside efforts to expand charging stations across Ontario.

Ontario's Environment Minister Glen Murray helps cut the ribbon on the first ever electric vehicle discovery centre. (CBC News)

Murray says the goal of the centre is to convince people to switch to electric vehicles in order to fight climate change, a topic gaining momentum in southern Alberta as well.

Visitors to the centre learn about how electric vehicles work and about Ontario government subsidies and rebates for electric car owners, as well as the status of the provincial charging network and infrastructure.

Visitors can test-drive vehicles from different companies and those who see something they like will receive a referral to an electric car dealership in their area.

The province hopes to have electric vehicles make up five per cent of all new vehicles sold by 2020. (Oliver Walters/CBC)

The Ontario government's Climate Change Action Plan includes a goal to have electric vehicles make up five per cent of all new vehicles sold by 2020, amid debate over whether the next wave will run on clean power in Ontario, and the discovery centre is part of that plan.

The centre is free for visitors. It's a public-private partnership funded from the provincial government's cap-and-trade revenue, with other funding from TD Bank Group, Ontario Power Generation, Power Workers' Union, Toronto Hydro and Bruce Power.

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St. Albert electric buses debut as zero-emission, quiet public transit, featuring BYD technology, long-range batteries, and charging stations, serving Edmonton routes while advancing sustainable transportation goals and a future fleet expansion.

Key Points

They are zero-emission BYD transit buses that cut noise and air pollution, with long-range batteries and city charging.

✅ Up to 250-280 km range per charge

✅ Quiet, zero-emission operations reduce urban pollution

✅ Backed by provincial GreenTRIP funding and BYD tech

The city of St. Albert is going green — both literally and esthetically — with three electric buses on routes in and around the city this week.

"They're virtually silent," Wes Brodhead, chair of the Capital Region Board transit committee and a St. Albert city councillor, said. "This, as opposed to the diesel buses and the roar that accompanies them as they drive down the street."

You may not hear them coming but you'll definitely see them, as electric school buses in B.C. hit the road as well.

The 35-foot electric buses are painted bright green to represent the city's goal of adopting sustainable transportation.

"There's no noise pollution, there's no air pollution, and it just kind of fit with the whole theme of the city," said St. Albert Transit director Kevin Bamber.

'The conversation around the conference was not if but when the industry will fully embrace electrification,' - Wes Brodhead, St. Albert city councillor

The buses cost about $970,000 each. Adding in the required infrastructure, including charging stations, the project cost a total of $3.1 million, with two-thirds of the funding coming from the provincial government's Green Transit Incentives Program. 

The electric buses are estimated to go between 250 and 280 kilometres on a single charge.

"That would mean any of the routes that we currently have through St. Albert or into Edmonton, an electric bus could do the morning route, come back, park in the afternoon and go back out and do the afternoon route without a charge," Bamber said. 

St. Albert councillor Wes Brodhead envisions having a full fleet of 60 electric buses in years to come, a scale informed by examples like the TTC's electric bus fleet operating in North America. (Supplied)

Brodhead went to an international transit conference in Montreal, where STM electric buses have begun rolling out and he said manufacturers presented various electric bus designs. 

"The conversation around the conference was not if but when the industry will fully embrace electrification," Brodhead said.

The vehicles were built in California by BYD Ltd., one of only two companies making the long-endurance electric buses.

The city has ordered four more of the buses and hopes to be running all seven by the end of the year, as battery-electric buses in Metro Vancouver continue to hit the roads nationwide.

Eventually, Brodhead envisions having a full fleet of 60 electric buses in St. Albert.

Edmonton is expected to operate as many as 40 electric buses, and while city staff are still in the planning stages, Edmonton's first electric bus has already hit city streets.

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TransWest Express Power Line will deliver Wyoming wind energy to California via a 730-mile high-voltage corridor, integrating 3,000 MW from the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre project to strengthen the Western grid and decarbonization goals.

Key Points

A 730-mile line delivering up to 3,000 MW of Wyoming wind to Western states, improving clean energy reliability.

✅ 3,000 MW from Chokecherry and Sierra Madre turbines

✅ 730-mile route linking Wyoming to CA, AZ, NV markets

✅ Supports 60% by 2030, 100% by 2045 clean mandates

A conservative billionaire wants to build America's biggest wind farm in Wyoming and send the clean electricity to California.

Federal officials have approved another section of the 730-mile TransWest Express power line, in line with a renewable transmission rule aimed at speeding upgrades, which would carry energy from Philip Anschutz's Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind farm to potential customers in California, Arizona and Nevada. The 1,000-turbine, 3,000-megawatt wind project, which has been in the works for a decade, would be built in south-central Wyoming, in one of the windiest spots in the continental U.S.

Supporters say the massive power project would help California meet its clean energy goals, in part because Wyoming winds tend to blow strong into the evening, as the sun sets over the Pacific and the Golden State's many solar farms go offline, though expanding battery storage is starting to fill that gap. Under California law, electric utilities are required to get 50% of their power from renewable sources by 2030. The state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would raise the clean energy mandate to 60% by 2030 and 100% by 2045.

The Denver-based Anschutz Corporation hasn't inked any contracts to sell the electricity its Wyoming wind farm would generate. But company officials are confident demand will materialize by the time they're ready to build turbines. Construction of roads and other project infrastructure started last year and picked back up in April after a winter hiatus.

The developer has already spent $100 million developing the wind farm and power line, and expects to spend a combined $8 billion on the two projects.

Bill Miller oversees the development of the Anschutz Corporation's Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind farm in Wyoming, which would send as much as 3,000 megawatts of wind power to California. (Photo: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)

After an extensive environmental review, the U.S. Forest Service issued a permit Wednesday for portions of the TransWest Express transmission line that would cross through 19 miles of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Manti-La Sal national forests in Utah.

"It's another step forward in the process of making this line a reality, and being able to provide a path that allows California, Arizona and Nevada to access the high volumes of renewable energy supplies that are available in Wyoming," said Kara Choquette, a spokesperson for the Anschutz subsidiaries developing the power project.

Between the Forest Service approval and a Bureau of Land Management permit issued in December, the developer now has the go-ahead to build about two-thirds of the 730-mile route, Choquette said, progress that comes as the U.S. grid overhaul for renewables accelerates nationwide. Company officials are reaching out to the roughly 450 private landowners along the proposed route. They must also apply for a state permit in Wyoming, and 14 county-level permits in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada.

But Anschutz's Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind farm is a reminder that Trump can't stop the ongoing transition from coal to cleaner sources of energy, which is being driven largely by market forces. Solar, wind and natural gas, which burns more cleanly than coal, are now the cheapest sources of new electricity across much of the country, even as Texas grid constraints sometimes force High Plains turbines to shut down during oversupply. Utility industry executives are abandoning coal and embracing renewable energy. And the American solar industry employs more people than coal or natural gas.

States and local governments in California, New York and elsewhere have also forged ahead with policies to reduce climate emissions, including New York's largest offshore wind project recently approved. So have major companies like Apple, Facebook and Google, which have invested billions of dollars in renewable energy.

"The (Trump) administration is so out of step with reality right now. The trend is powerful, whether it's coming the cities or corporations, or from the coastal states," said Don Furman, a former utility executive who now advocates for greater sharing of renewable energy across state lines in the West.

Turbines at Duke Energy's Happy Jack wind farm near Cheyenne, Wyoming generate electricity on Dec. 6, 2016. (Photo: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)

Clean energy advocates say the 3,000-megawatt Wyoming wind farm is an especially powerful example of the economic case for renewable energy, because its proprietor is Anschutz, a longtime fossil fuel magnate and major donor to Republican politicians.

"I don't think Philip Anschutz would be putting his money here if he thought this was a bad business bet," Furman said.

The Forest Service also issued a permit Wednesday for the 416-mile Energy Gateway South power line, which would run through Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, traversing nine miles of the same national forests TransWest Express would cross. Gateway South is part of the 1,900-mile Energy Gateway transmission project being developed by Warren Buffett's PacifiCorp utility, which serves customers across six western states.

PacifiCorp officials say the $6 billion transmission project is needed to meet growing electricity demand. They've also pitched the power lines as another opportunity to transmit wind power from Wyoming to California and other coastal states. Critics, though, see Energy Gateway as costly and unnecessary — and they're worried Californians would end up paying the price through higher electricity rates.

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California Natural Gas Plant Rethink signals a shift toward clean energy, renewables, distributed solar, battery storage, and grid modernization as LADWP and regulators pause repowering plans amid an electricity oversupply and rising ratepayer costs.

Key Points

California pauses new gas plants to assess renewables, storage, and grid solutions for reliability.

✅ LADWP delays $2.2B gas repowers to study clean alternatives

✅ CEC weighs halting Oxnard plant amid grid oversupply

✅ Distributed solar, batteries, demand response boost reliability

California energy officials are, for the first time, rethinking plans to build expensive natural gas power plants in the face of an electricity glut and growing use of cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced Tuesday that it has put a hold on a $2.2-billion plan to rebuild several old natural gas power plants while it studies clean energy alternatives to meet electricity demands. And the California Energy Commission may decide as early as Thursday to halt a natural gas project in Ventura County.

The scrutiny comes after an investigation found that the state is operating with an oversupply of electricity, driven largely by the construction of gas-fueled generating plants, leading to higher rates as regulators consider a rate overhaul to clean the grid. The state’s power plants are on track to be able to produce at least 21% more electricity than needed by 2020, according to the Times report.

Californians are footing a $40-billion annual bill while using less electricity, paying $6.8 billion more than they did in 2008 when power use in the state was at its all-time high. Electricity consumption has since fallen and remained largely flat.

Utilities in California have been on a years-long building binge, adding new natural gas plants even as the nation’s electricity system has undergone significant change, including consumer choice reforms that are reshaping the market.

Where utilities once delivered all electrical services from huge power plants along miles of transmission lines, the industry now must consider power delivered to the electric grid not only from its own sources, but also from solar systems and batteries at homes and businesses.

At the same time, utilities have been aggressively upgrading or rebuilding their aging natural gas plants — a move critics have said is unnecessary because consumers are using less power and clean energy technology is making those plants obsolete.

The DWP and energy commission moves involve as many as seven natural gas plant projects proposed for Southern California, despite warnings about a looming shortage if capacity is retired too fast, from Oxnard to Carlsbad, at a cost of more than $6 billion.

Reiko Kerr, the DWP’s senior assistant general manager of power systems, said given the changes in the energy world, the assessment is necessary to protect ratepayer dollars and the environment.

“The whole utility paradigm has shifted,” Kerr said in an interview. “We really are doing our ratepayers a disservice by not considering all viable options.

“We’re just looking at everything,” she said. “What can help us solve this reliability, renewable and greenhouse gas challenge that we all have?”

State and local governments have felt a heightened sense of urgency to deal with climate change after President Trump decided last week to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord.

California already has mandated that at least 50% of the state’s electricity come from clean energy sources by 2030. Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) wants to increase that to 100% by 2045.

Building or overhauling natural gas plants throughout Southern California, environmentalists argue, isn’t helping achieve those goals, even as some contend the state can't keep the lights on without gas during the transition.

The DWP’s move to delay plans for the fossil fuel plants, which seemed all but set to be built, came as a surprise to clean-energy advocates, who hailed the decision.

“This is a great first step toward smart energy investments that save customers money, ensure the lights stay on and protect our health and environment,” Graciela Geyer of the Sierra Club said.

The environmental group said that if the utility had moved ahead with the $2.2-billion investment in repowering natural gas plants, it “would have blown an irreparable hole in the city and the state’s hopes to achieve 100% generation” from clean energy sources.

Angela Johnson Meszaros, attorney at EarthJustice, said in a statement: "As our city struggles with the worst smog we’ve seen in years, we appreciate that LADWP is taking some much-needed time to reassess its plans to build fossil fuel power plants. We look forward to the day that LADWP announces that we are going to power our city with 100% clean energy.”

The gas-fired generating units slated for demolition and rebuilding are at the Scattergood, Haynes and Harbor electricity plants, which range from 34 to 67 years old.

As a group, the three plants have generated less than 20% of their combined capacity since 2001. The Harbor facility has operated on the low end at just 7%, while Haynes ran on the high end at 22%.

“The old model, the old legacy clunkers, won’t get us into the future we want,” DWP’s Kerr said.

DWP staff members told the utility’s’ commissioners Tuesday that their analysis of possible alternatives would be completed no later than early 2018.

Separately, the California Energy Commission this week is evaluating whether to halt a natural gas project in Ventura County after the state’s electric grid operator offered to conduct a study of clean energy alternatives to the roughly $250-million project on Mandalay Bay in Oxnard.

An energy commission committee has been deliberating since a hearing Monday during which Southern California Edison and the project’s developer, NRG Energy, argued that a study is simply a delay tactic that probably would kill a project needed to ensure reliable electric service and to avoid blackouts during peak demand.

The California Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s electric grid, told the energy commission that it would take three to four weeks to conduct its study on alternatives to the Oxnard natural gas project.

“Here we have an actual offer by the ISO to do such an analysis,” Ellison Folk, a lawyer representing the city of Oxnard, told the energy commission as she pushed for the study. “Its view that this is an analysis worth doing is something worth taking seriously.”

Energy commission members reviewing the study proposal are scheduled to meet again Thursday to consider the offer.

The board of governors for the California Independent System Operator made the unusual offer at its May 1 meeting to conduct a eleventh-hour study of clean-energy alternatives to building a new natural gas plant.

“If we’re going to be moving forward with a gas plant at this time, in this juncture, in the context of everything that’s going on, not evaluating other alternatives that are viable, noncombustion alternatives, is a missed opportunity,” Angelina Galetiva. a commission board member, said during the May 1 meeting.

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