It’s a bit late to kiss and make up.That’s the message Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz is sending her federal counterpart Steven Guilbeault after throwing cold water on Ottawa’s attempts to water down its clean energy regulations as a day late, $40 billion short.In a statement to The Western Standard Schulz described the amendments as “the most destructive piece of Canadian electricity regulation in decades.”Rather than embrace a seemingly veiled attempt at compromise, Schulz said the amended proposals “make no meaningful corrections” to what is ultimately, a misguided policy..“These regulations still threaten to leave Alberta families freezing in the dark. This radical federal plan has dangerous implications for Albertans. Tweaks won’t work, it must be scrapped entirely,” she said.“In this report the federal government admits they got it wrong — that their draft regulations were too stringent, unachievable and risked energy security and curtailing investment in clean technology. However, instead of learning from yet another failure, Minister Guilbeault has offered an 11-page report that commits to zero meaningful corrections.”.“The proposed regulations still put our province’s electricity grid at unacceptable risks. As we saw in January, dispatchable natural gas is critical to keeping the lights on and furnaces running.”Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz.Schulz said Alberta must retain sufficient supply of natural gas generation to power homes and businesses alongside intermittent renewables. “The proposed regulations still put our province’s electricity grid at unacceptable risks. As we saw in January, dispatchable natural gas is critical to keeping the lights on and furnaces running.”And despite provisions to allow natural gas plants to run longer on cold nights and incentivize carbon capture technology — Schulz said it doesn’t matter, because electricity is ultimately Alberta’s exclusive jurisdiction under the constitution.It is essentially, a bait and switch that feigns compromise while still barrelling ahead with what is a misguided and ultimately, illegal policy.“It’s clear that Ottawa intends to blindly impose these dangerous and unrealistic regulations. They appear set on making electricity more expensive, increasing the risks of blackouts and violating Canada’s constitution,” she continued.Alberta has already reduced electricity emissions by 53% and will phase-out all coal generation this year, she said. Instead of imposing arbitrary targets, Ottawa should instead follow Alberta’s lead. “We have a plan to achieve a carbon-neutral grid by 2050. We are confident this can be done without these reckless regulations and we continue to call on Minister Guilbeault to abandon them and to work with us instead.”
