Alberta’s default regulated electricity rate is poised to drop 25% in March, just as the first in a series of major new gas-fired power generation additions is set to come on stream later this month.Direct Energy Regulated Services announced Friday that its regulated rate option — the default for those without contracts — will fall to 13.38 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) this month for residential consumers and 13.2 cents per kWh for commercial users.That’s down from about 15.7 cents kWh in February. In a statement Direct Energy said a typical residential customer consuming about 600 kWh per month would save about $20.15 on their bill.It comes as the Alberta grid is set to turn on 900 megawatts of new gas fired power in west central Alberta courtesy of the Cascade Power project. The $1.5-billion combined cycle facility is big enough to supply more than 8% of the province’s power needs..“It is imperative that Alberta continue to have sufficient dispatchable generation to serve load during peak demand periods when other forms of generation are not able to contribute“AESO.And it’s almost no coincidence, it comes after the UCP’s lifting of its moratorium on renewable power takes effect March 1.The combined cycle design of the Cascade plant means it uses gas turbines in concert with a steam that allows it to generate 50% more power while producing 62% less emissions compared to a typical coal plant and 30% less than a coal-to-gas conversion.According to the plant’s owners, Cascade will also help to alleviate periods of short supply when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining — such as what happened in January during Alberta’s full-blown electricity alert.“It is imperative that Alberta continue to have sufficient dispatchable generation to serve load during peak demand periods when other forms of generation are not able to contribute in a meaningful way,” said Alberta Electric System Operator spokesperson Diane Kossman.It’s the first of more than 2,700 megawatts of new gas base load supply due to come onto the grid this year, according to the AESO, the largest jump in generating capacity in Alberta’s history. .“I am very confident we will not only be able to stabilize costs, but bring it down to historical prices of less than 10 cents a kilowatt hour,”Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf.Earlier this week Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the gas-fired additions would allow room for more renewables into the system after the UCP government lifted its moratorium on wind and solar. It also means electricity prices could fall into the single digits after hitting a peak of more than 32 cents/kWh late last year, analysts said.It also fulfills a prediction made by Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf in December when futures prices began falling in anticipation of the new capacity adds.“I am very confident we will not only be able to stabilize costs, but bring it down to historical prices of less than 10 cents a kilowatt hour, as well as the all-in cost to the ratepayer being at a much more affordable level," he said at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce speech.
Alberta’s default regulated electricity rate is poised to drop 25% in March, just as the first in a series of major new gas-fired power generation additions is set to come on stream later this month.Direct Energy Regulated Services announced Friday that its regulated rate option — the default for those without contracts — will fall to 13.38 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) this month for residential consumers and 13.2 cents per kWh for commercial users.That’s down from about 15.7 cents kWh in February. In a statement Direct Energy said a typical residential customer consuming about 600 kWh per month would save about $20.15 on their bill.It comes as the Alberta grid is set to turn on 900 megawatts of new gas fired power in west central Alberta courtesy of the Cascade Power project. The $1.5-billion combined cycle facility is big enough to supply more than 8% of the province’s power needs..“It is imperative that Alberta continue to have sufficient dispatchable generation to serve load during peak demand periods when other forms of generation are not able to contribute“AESO.And it’s almost no coincidence, it comes after the UCP’s lifting of its moratorium on renewable power takes effect March 1.The combined cycle design of the Cascade plant means it uses gas turbines in concert with a steam that allows it to generate 50% more power while producing 62% less emissions compared to a typical coal plant and 30% less than a coal-to-gas conversion.According to the plant’s owners, Cascade will also help to alleviate periods of short supply when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining — such as what happened in January during Alberta’s full-blown electricity alert.“It is imperative that Alberta continue to have sufficient dispatchable generation to serve load during peak demand periods when other forms of generation are not able to contribute in a meaningful way,” said Alberta Electric System Operator spokesperson Diane Kossman.It’s the first of more than 2,700 megawatts of new gas base load supply due to come onto the grid this year, according to the AESO, the largest jump in generating capacity in Alberta’s history. .“I am very confident we will not only be able to stabilize costs, but bring it down to historical prices of less than 10 cents a kilowatt hour,”Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf.Earlier this week Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the gas-fired additions would allow room for more renewables into the system after the UCP government lifted its moratorium on wind and solar. It also means electricity prices could fall into the single digits after hitting a peak of more than 32 cents/kWh late last year, analysts said.It also fulfills a prediction made by Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf in December when futures prices began falling in anticipation of the new capacity adds.“I am very confident we will not only be able to stabilize costs, but bring it down to historical prices of less than 10 cents a kilowatt hour, as well as the all-in cost to the ratepayer being at a much more affordable level," he said at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce speech.
