Mapleleafweb.com: Features - Electrical Deregulation in Canada

In January 2003, an ATCO representative warned that last summer’s drought could force a major southern Alberta power plant to reduce production or shut down completely in the Spring. Abnormal weather conditions also played a large role in California’s energy crisis in 2001. However, it is unlikely that southern Alberta residents will be hit with the “rolling blackouts” many Californians experienced, although both jurisdictions have recently deregulated their electrical energy industry. Most experts agree that the problem in California was not deregulation, but the way in which it was implemented.

The following examines electrical deregulation in both Canada and the United States. The article is broken down into the following sections:

Deregulating the Electrical Energy Industry: What is electricity deregulation? Why are so many governments embracing the concept?
Electricity Deregulation in Canada: The Alberta Scenario: Deregulation under the Klein Conservatives
Rethinking Deregulation in Alberta: What went wrong and what is needed for the future
Electricity Deregulation in Ontario: Background: why it’s still too early to know if electricity deregulation will succeed in Ontario
California: From Excess Capacity to Rolling Blackouts: Background and highlights of electrical deregulation in California, including the 2001 energy crisis
What went wrong in California?: Mistakes made by legislators in restructuring the electrical energy industry
Assessing Electricity Deregulation: Issues to consider when implementing deregulation
Glossary of Terms: Terms used frequently in discussing electricity

Electrical Deregulation in Canada

by Rhonda Lauret Parkinson February 23, 2003

by Rhonda Lauret Parkinson
February 23, 2003