Modernizing Alberta’s electricity system

Overview

Bill 86, the Electricity Statutes Amendment Act, would update existing legislation to enable greater integration of technical innovations to Alberta’s electricity system, providing long-term benefits for both consumers and the electricity industry.

If passed, Bill 86 will address the changing ways that electricity producers and consumers interact with and use Alberta’s power grid to encourage adoption and investment in emerging energy systems and technologies.

Proposed changes are informed by feedback from investors, consumer groups and electricity producers and utilities through the Energy storage engagement and are not expected to impact consumers’ utility costs.

Key changes

If passed, the Electricity Statutes Amendment Act will:

• allow the integration of energy storage into Alberta’s interconnected electricity system in both the competitive electricity market and the transmission and distribution system
• allow unlimited self-supply with export, technology that allows electricity to be generated on-site with excess power sent to the grid, while ensuring that transmission system costs are balanced among all system participants
• build on the Alberta Utilities Commission Distribution System Inquiry on modernizing Alberta’s electric distribution system to ensure the cost-effective integration of distributed energy resources in the system
• add a requirement for distribution owners to prepare long-term plans as per future regulations, which will describe the outcomes and timing of the plans

Next steps

If passed, these amendments are expected to be proclaimed at the same time the related regulations are brought into force, with a goal of finalizing the amendments in 2022.

News

• Modernizing Alberta’s electricity system (November 17, 2021)