WASHINGTON, DC - April 8, 2015. On April 8 and 9, a delegation of the Canadian Electricity Association’s (CEA) Board of Directors will meet with senior U.S. government officials to discuss major pending U.S. climate and energy policies, and the importance of leveraging and strengthening the bilateral electricity relationship under these initiatives.
Topping the agenda will be a focus on two of the Obama Administration’s signature policy programs: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants and the White House’s Quadrennial Energy Review (QER), which will comprehensively assess existing U.S. energy policy and propose recommendations for further U.S. government action. Other discussion topics will include grid security, electricity market performance, and permitting of transmission lines across the U.S.-Canada border.
“Using our shared power system as a launch point, there is much that Canada and the United States can achieve together to fulfill our common goals in the energy and climate space,” said Anthony Haines , President and Chief Executive Officer of Toronto Hydro Corporation and Chair of CEA’s Board of Directors. “This week’s visit reflects CEA members’ commitment to doing our part in this worthwhile endeavour. We look forward to continued collaboration with U.S. government partners on a host of key issues.”
“In many ways, the cross-border electricity relationship has never been stronger,” said the Hon. Sergio Marchi, CEA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “However, with unprecedented challenges like the historic highs in infrastructure investment needs and the imperative to lower our sector’s emissions profile, we cannot afford to be complacent.”
The Canadian and U.S. transmission networks are physically interconnected at over 30 points, forming a highly integrated North American grid. Between six and 10 percent of Canada’s generation is exported to the U.S. each year, with total bilateral trade having exceeded C$3.5 billion in value in 2014. Cross-border linkages offer numerous benefits to both countries, from higher levels of reliable service to expanded access to low-carbon, competitively-priced resources.
In step with CEA’s long-standing support for close cross-border collaboration, CEA previously filed comments on the EPA’s GHG proposals and the QER. Both sets of comments urged the relevant U.S. government agencies to recognize and leverage the integrated nature of the North American electricity grid, and promote the continued two-way flow in cross-border electricity trade, as they pursued their respective policy objectives.
Click here to read CEA’s formal submission to the U.S. EPA on the Clean Power Plan.
Click here to read CEA’s comments on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Quadrennial Energy Review.