CEA Board Releases Policy on Canada’s Clean Energy Future

OTTAWA (November 8, 2018) Today, the CEA Board of Directors met with the Prime Minister’s Office, several Cabinet Minister’s, Deputy Minister’s and Parliamentary Secretary’s from a list of departments most relevant to the electricity industry. CEA presented them with a policy platform document related to Canada’s Clean Energy Future. The document contains 13 strategic considerations for the federal government.

“While electricity is provincially regulated, the federal government plays a significant role in its development. Some 34 federal departments and, or agencies are involved in the electricity space in Canada. That is why we need a national energy strategy that leverages all our energy assets on behalf of all regions and all Canadians,” says Ray Robinson, Chair of the Canadian Electricity Association.

Below is a summary of some of the recommendations included in the policy platform.

Finalize a Canadian Energy Strategy

Given the heightened global competition and the need for proactive climate change risk management, it is imperative that we develop a national plan, with industry, for how we can best get these resources to market, and in the process, generate economic growth and opportunities for Canadians. Therefore, we recommend that:

  • Through federal engagement, and in full cooperation with the provinces and territories, a framework for a Canadian Energy Strategy (CES) be finalized. Specific to electricity, a Canadian Energy Strategy should set a framework for how we can optimize our clean energy resources.

Align and streamline energy regulatory policies

Recent federal regulatory developments that increase the regulatory burden facing the electricity sector include: climate regulations such as federal carbon pricing legislation, the Clean Fuel Standard, coal and natural gas regulations; and legislative changes to the project approval process. The net result is that the “cumulative regulatory and legislative pancaking” has become dangerously heavy. To that end, we recommend:

  • Aligning and streamlining federal, provincial and territorial regulatory policies. This can be done through immediately funding the Treasury Board Secretariat in collaboration with NRCan and ECCC to undertake a review of all redundant, overlapping, and/or outdated regulations hindering progress towards our energy future.

Enabling electricity sector innovation and infrastructure

The transition to cleaner sources of energy, and propelling Canada to be a global clean energy leader will require additional and sustained investments in both infrastructure and innovation support mechanisms. Currently, innovative pilots submitted to regulators by our members get routinely turned down, in the name of keeping costs low. The legislative and regulatory arms are not in sync, creating a problematic ‘innovation gap’. As a result, we believe:

  • The government should recapitalize successful innovation and infrastructure funding programs, as well as add new and expanded initiatives.
  • The government should create a carve-out for electricity sector renewal projects under federal infrastructure funding programs.
  • The federal government, in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, must eliminate the innovation gap that utilities face, and the Provincial and Territorial Energy Regulator Acts need to be modernized.

Expand Northern Energy Investments

The cost of electricity in many communities is estimated to be over ten times higher than the Canadian average. This lack of access to affordable power has limited their economic potential and stifled the region’s economic development and prosperity. It also impacts their social fabric. We therefore ask the Federal Government:

  • To ensure that the energy needs of Canada’s North are met, in conjunction with utilities, the federal government should work to facilitate transmission interconnections in the North between provinces, territories and communities.
  • To support renewable energy infrastructure projects in Canada’s North in terms of financial capital, R&D and deployment by recapitalizing existing funding programs.

A National Electrification Strategy

  • Develop a National Electrification Strategy, in consultation with the provinces, territories, and industry, and earmark appropriate funding for such an initiative.

Strengthening Cyber Security

  • Increase investments in Canada’s cybersecurity strategy to meet growing threat to Canada’s critical infrastructure.
  • Develop a proactive North American cyber security strategy to protect shared infrastructure, and champion international cooperation to develop the tools to fight the next generation of cyber threats.

These meetings were part of series of CEA board events in Ottawa, including their board meeting, a meeting with the U.S. ambassador, two public policy panels, an awards reception and a dinner with the Prime Minister.

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