Two major industry groups continue to oppose four critical transmission projects (CRT). The two industry associations represent tens of thousands of workers and several key sectors of the province’s economy. Serious concerns from the major industry associations require serious attention to the policy sparking the debate.
In an article in this week’s Journal, the executive director of the Industry Power Consumers Association says it’s not that industry can’t afford the expected rise in transmission rates, but that the price will force companies to seek ways to reduce electricity costs. Industries could choose to do business across the border in Saskatchewan or relocate elsewhere and reduce the large overhead cost of electricity.
While one impact of Bill 50 is the price tag – estimated by AESO at $6 billion for the four lines – another is the procedural wrangling done by government to approve the lines through a legislative act. Bill 50 changed the way transmission reinforcements and projects are approved in the province by permitting cabinet to declare a line a critical need as critical transmission infrastructure (CTI). If it’s deemed CTI, the power company does not have to prove the need for the line in a public hearing.
There are 250 projects AESO wants completed. For 246 of these projects, stakeholders can confront evidence of need in a public hearing before the Alberta Utilities Commission. These four CTI projects are above that, they are “critical” according to the experts in government. Cabinet takes its direction from AESO, which as a group in the business of managing transmission lines should know a thing or two about need. However, even if a project is critical, there is still no reason why the public hearing where need must be proven should be pulled.
Alberta is facing rapid growth and a growing demand for electricity, expected to double in the next 20 years. Transmission upgrades have occurred and continue to occur using the traditional methods of having to prove a project’s need publicly. It is not the transmission system that is faltering, it is the provincial government’s commitment to due process that has been zapped.
In light of industry concerns about Bill 50 lines, government should reopen that file and consider whether substituting a cabinet decision for due process was the right thing to do.
