Bill 86, the Electricity Statutes Amendment Act
Alberta is amid modernizing their electricity systems. Bill 86, the Electricity Statutes Amendment Act, would update existing legislation to enable greater integration of technical innovations to Alberta’s electricity system, providing long-term benefits for both consumers and the electricity industry.
The key changes this bill will bring are:
- allow the integration of energy storage into Alberta’s interconnected electricity system in both the competitive electricity market and the transmission and distribution system
- allow unlimited self-supply with export, technology that allows electricity to be generated on-site with excess power sent to the grid, while ensuring that transmission system costs are balanced among all system participants
- build on the Alberta Utilities Commission Distribution System Inquiry on modernizing Alberta’s electric distribution system to ensure the cost-effective integration of distributed energy resources in the system
- add a requirement for distribution owners to prepare long-term plans as per future regulations, which will describe the outcomes and timing of the plans
Currently, self-supply and export is not allowed in the province except in four specific scenarios including at designated industrial sites and in the case of municipalities generating their own power.
If passed this bill can become a steppingstone for all other provinces to follow. It is a move in the right direction for Microgeneration Solar and Wind further increasing interest in clean renewable energy resources.