DRAYTON VALLEY — The Pembina Institute today called on the provincial government to address Alberta's electricity crisis by immediately implementing six new policies to promote improved energy efficiency and increased use of low-impact renewable energy sources.
"While consumer rebates provide short-term relief and are politically expedient, our proposed measures will reduce consumers' long-term vulnerability to high electricity prices," said Tom Marr-Laing, Director of the Energy Watch Program at the Pembina Institute. "The measures will also reduce the risk of significant human health and environmental impacts from new heavily polluting coal-fired power stations."
The six new initiatives proposed by the Pembina Institute are:
An Alberta Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund
An Alberta Energy Efficiency Office
A Performance Mechanism and Energy Efficiency Target for Electricity Retailers
A Low-Impact Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
A Low-Impact Renewable Energy Production Incentive
A Net Metering Program for Small-Scale, Low Impact Renewable Energy Sources
"Implementation of these six policies would cost a small fraction of what the Alberta government has already spent on energy rebates," said Andrew Pape-Salmon, Eco-Efficient Technologies Program Director at the Institute. "Unlike the rebates, however, these policies would facilitate improved energy efficiency, displace up to 800 MW of coal-fired generation, and produce up to half a billion dollars in savings on energy bills."
Implementing the Pembina Institute's "Smart Electricity Policy" for Alberta will increase diversity of electricity supply, promote regional economic development, protect human health, and increase consumers' awareness of their electricity use and its impacts.
"While Alberta has positioned itself as a leader in electricity policy, in truth, we are far behind other jurisdictions in designing an electricity policy that manages both economic and environmental risks," says Pape-Salmon, who estimates that the environmental liability of coal-fired electricity supplies could be $1 billion per year by the end of the decade for greenhouse gas emissions alone. "Our proposed policies would also help to establish a large supply of low-impact renewable energy in the province, reducing Alberta's exposure to such environmental liabilities."
Texas recently required that electricity retailers provide a minimum share of their supplies from renewable energy sources such as wind, biomass, solar, and hydro power. In fact, it is expected that at least 2,000 MW of new renewable energy capacity will be online in 2002, in time for the introduction of a competitive marketplace. This is enough electricity for at least 700,000 homes.
Download A Smart Electricity Policy for Alberta (pdf, 94 KB)
For more information contact:
Tom Marr-Laing
Director, Energy Watch Program, Pembina Institute
Cell: 780-621-2472
Email: thomasml@pembina.org
Andrew Pape-Salmon
Director, Eco-Tech
Pembina Institute
Office: 250-703-6000
Email: andrewp@pembina.org