Canada’s Energy Ministers have begun exploring the idea of a national transmission grid.
Quebec has not put its signature to a Memorandum of Understanding.
The grid would allow excess electricity from one jurisdiction to flow to other provinces and territories.
The idea was first proposed during a gathering of Ministers last September, where they agreed that expanding electricity transmission between jurisdictions was essential to meeting rising demand, strengthening energy security and unlocking the full value of Canada’s clean and diverse energy resources.
Ontario’s Energy Minister Stephen Lecce (LET-chay) says the country now has 13 islands of grids that do not speak to each other or flow power to each other.
“So the political commitment you’re getting from the government at the ministerial levels is to get our system planners through this agreement to officially build out a national strategy, inter-tied by inter-tied, to move power east-west, north-south within Canada to build one Canadian economy.”
New Brunswick’s Energy Minister Rene Legacy is supportive.
He sees it helping to lower costs, especially in Atlantic Canada.
“We in Atlantic Canada have a problem of scale. A kilometre of transmission line costs the same whether you have 400,000 rate payers or you have four million,” says Legacy.
“So we need to work in partnership. We need our federal partners to be at the table. This was a natural fit, and we are quite happy to see all of our colleagues across the country sign on and agree that working together is the right path for the future of our provinces and the future of Canada.”
The Ministers are also seeking a national electricity strategy to help the national grid succeed.
Lecce says electricity is a key component to growing the economy.
“This is akin to a railway from sea to sea. It is that consequential,” says Lecce.
“Power is the most important currency business governments can have. More than resources and raw materials, electricity will be the enabler of growth.”
No dollar figure has been attached to the project, nor a timetable as to when some kind of construction would take place.
The Ministers are leaving that up to their planning teams to sort out.
“This is not work that can happen overnight,” says Lecce.
“It is technical work, but it will be done, and that’s the commitment we’re making. We’ve got a problem, we’ve agreed to the problem definition, we agreed to a mechanism to fix it.”
“The next step now is for the system planners to go off, build the strategy, figure out the intertie connections.”
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