“This isn’t politics: this is physics” – Electricity Canada slams Ottawa’s Clean Electricity Regulations

August 23, 2024* – “The [federal] government’s proposed Clean Electricity Regulations will determine how trillions of dollars’ worth of investments will be spent. We need regulations, though, that work in the real world […] across our vast country for all Canadians,” said Electricity Canada CEO Francis Bradley.

Members of Electricity Canada (formerly Canadian Electricity Association) generate, transmit, and distribute electrical energy across Canada. They are concerned that these regulations—which set out how electricity can be generated—will make electricity less reliable, and drastically affect affordability.

Speaking on the issue of affordability, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Electrification Hon. Stephen Lecce posted that his ministry is in full agreement with Electricity Canada.

“The cost of living is the most pressing challenge impacting Canadian families […]” Lecce posted, adding that the Ontario government “has strongly opposed this proposal, which will drive families into energy poverty […]”

Electricity Canada notes the following problems with the Clean Electricity Regulations (including how they came into existence):

• The government has ignored expert advice from electricity providers for two years.
• The regulations will make it even more difficult to fully decarbonize the electricity grid.
• Until technology catches up, electricity providers will need some natural gas to operate their systems safely and affordably. Doing away with natural gas will make the system unreliable.
• Canada has one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world. Our electricity system could help decarbonize other parts of the economy right now. Instead, government is singularly focused on making negligible increases in overall decarbonization.
• The government has been unwilling to consider how this will affect the reliability of electricity for Canadians in different provinces. The impact of this regulation will be mostly felt by Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Furthermore, the association predicts these consequences:

• Higher costs and lower reliability will force businesses to leave Canada. With our grid already being one of the world’s cleanest, this just means carbon emissions will be even higher somewhere else while we lose the jobs and income.
• The Clean Electricity Regulations will force provinces to build and operate their electricity grids in ways that will make bills go up and reliability go down.
• If we get these rules wrong, compliance will be expensive, and blackouts or brownouts will be inevitable in many places in Canada.

“This isn’t politics: this is physics. That’s why we need to get these regulations right or the consequences could be catastrophic,” Bradley added.

* Updated to include statements from Hon. Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Electrification.