On Wednesday, a new bill was introduced in the Alberta legislature, which would open up participation in the province’s power grid, allowing businesses to self-supply limitless quantities of power and promote extra quantities to the grid for consumer use.
If the proposal of Bill 86 under the Electricity Statutes Amendment Act would be accepted, it would extrude present legal guidelines and policies that govern Alberta’s power storage, sale, and transmission.
Currently, self-supply and export are not allowed withinside the province besides in 4 particular situations, including at specific commercial sites and in the case of municipalities producing their own power.
Dale Nally, associate minister of natural gas and electricity, stated at a news conference on Wednesday, “This would allow all companies that want to produce electricity for their own use, as well as sell it back to the marketplace, to participate”.
The businesses could additionally be capable of drawing from the province’s power grid if needed. The authorities stated the bill would permit all types of power generation. Bill 86 could inspire different types of power storage — the potential to maintain extra power for later use — like battery storage structures that can assist in coping with the “intermittency” of renewable energy, lower carbon emissions, and enhance reliability of the power grid.
Eventually, the proposed changes would lower prices for consumers, he said. The Alberta Electric System Operator would set a tariff that businesses would have to pay to ensure transmission costs are not bypassed, and prices go high for consumers.
Source: CBC News
