Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault releases details, says there is room to negotiate
“Shifting to clean electricity saves households on their energy bills, away from the shocks of yo-yo-ing gas and oil prices,” Guilbeault said.
2035 target
Conservatives are highly critical of the 2035 target and the potential cost it represents to consumers.
“This government has already increased the carbon tax and poured billions of dollars of fuel on the inflationary fire; now, they are going to ratchet up the cost of the electricity that is a necessity for families and businesses across Canada to literally keep the lights on,” Conservative environment critic Gerard Deltell said in a written statement Aug. 10.
Provincial governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan say they can’t meet the 2035 goal, preferring to set the target for 2050.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the draft regulations unconstitutional and irresponsible.
“They will not be implemented in our province — period,” Smith vowed in a statement Aug. 10.
Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said the rules set the stage for an astronomically expensive and ultimately unreliable power supply.
In an interview, Guilbeault said he believes the department struck a “good balance” after consulting with provinces, territories, private and public utilities, investors, sector experts and Indigenous groups.
The federal government has been seeking feedback on the regulatory framework for nearly a year and will consult on the draft regulations for 75 days, with a final version expected to be published in January 2025.
They won’t come into effect until 2035, but given the long lead time needed to build new electricity infrastructure, Guilbeault said the government wants to give the industry plenty of notice.
“One thing we’ve heard from investors, from energy companies, is: ‘Tell us what the rules are, and we will comply with them,”‘ he said of the consultations so far.
Guilbeault said the draft regulations are designed to be affordable and achievable with technology that is already being used across the country.
Bait-and-switch
“Clean electricity is already the most cost-effective in Canada, even after accounting for its variability,” said Jason Dion, senior research director with the Canadian Climate Institute.
“Alberta’s natural gas power plants cannot simply be kept in the cupboard and brought out to turn on and off whenever they’re needed,” Schulz told reporters in Calgary.
She also rejected a proposed regulation to allow power plants operating in 2025 to be exempt from greenhouse gas emissions caps for 20 years, in effect allowing some to go past the 2035 deadline.
“Who’s going to build that plant with a lifespan of 20 years?” she asked.
“It’s a bait-and-switch. It’s not going to work for Albertans or quite frankly, a number of other provinces across the country.”
“We understand we’re not there yet, which is why we’ve decided to ensure that the regulations wouldn’t apply to them,” he said.
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