Transmission Policy in Alberta - Pembina Institute comments and recommendations - Context: More Transmission is Important for Alberta

The Pembina Institute’s analysis has found that reaching a net-zero grid by 2035 can save Alberta households $600 per year in electricity costs, thanks substantially to the electricity price depressing effect of high renewable energy penetration.1 New, abated gas assets will also be needed in the net-zero grid and will need to be connected to the grid.2 While grid infrastructure requires upfront i. [...] However, the LTO continually underestimates the growth of renewables in Alberta, thus underestimating the scale of planning needed in the LTP process and resulting in sub-optimal (overall higher costs, long-term) grid planning and congestion that prevents lowest-cost energy from reaching consumers. [...] Alberta should work with and advocate for the Federal government to enable the ITC and other buckets of federal funding tied to electricity decarbonization (e.g., the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program and strategic finance pools) to include and prioritize intra- provincial infrastructure. [...] We agree with the “maximizing efficiency” principle in the Green Paper for maximizing the use of our existing infrastructure and minimizing the costs of build out. [...] 8 Accounting for the value of reduced emissions damages, the reduced curtailment from existing wind energy was enough to account for nearly half the annualized value needed to offset the cost of constructing CREZ infrastructure.9 The benefits of wind energy development, facilitated by the CREZ program, also deliver many economic benefits.