Touché. .That sums up Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s response to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s war of words over electricity regulations after she told him to “pound sand” on the weekend..On Monday, Smith laid the groundwork for a constitutional challenge over the Liberal government’s proposed net-zero power rules she insists will result in unaffordable and unacceptable increases in the cost of Albertans’ electricity bills while decreasing the reliability of the system..Indeed, StatCan numbers released on Tuesday showed Alberta’s electricity rates were almost 128% higher than a year ago..While she was at it, Smith strongly suggested Ottawa and Alberta are on a constitutional collision course that could ultimately result in the invocation of the so-called Sovereignty Act..On Tuesday, Guilbeault shot back, telling The Western Standard in a lengthy emailed statement that the federal government has the final legal authority to impose clean air standards on Alberta..“Tackling greenhouse gases is an established jurisdictional role of the federal government. The regulatory mechanism of setting pollution performance standards on power plants are the same as those used for the 2018 coal regulations,” he wrote..“We’ve been clear and transparent about our goal to get to net-zero grid by 2035 for quite some time. We did so only after a very robust early consultation period. Since the draft regulations have been published for formal consultation, Alberta can see that they are designed to ensuring a flexible, affordable and reliable electricity grid.”.The rest of the screed repeats his many talking points that are sure to raise the ire of UCP cabinet ministers and the premier, even offering a backhanded compliment to the prior NDP government..“Albertans have long led the way on clean electricity, from moving off coal power to scaling up renewable electricity. And as they have, Albertans have seen the results of that vision, from good jobs in construction to major energy projects that grow the economy,” he said..Guilbeault said Alberta would be allowed to continue to use natural gas for periods of peak demand, for emergencies and in plants that have been built since 2015. .“But most importantly, natural gas would be able to continue operating past 2035 as long as it has the proper carbon capture technologies applied. Supporting the deployment of more carbon capture technologies is something both our governments agree on and where Alberta is already a leader,” he said..At her press conference, Smith complained that despite promises to support carbon capture the federal government has failed to approve a single project despite a notoriously long regulatory process..Guilbeault further cited a report from the Alberta-based Pembina Institute — debunked by the Ottawa-based Public Policy Forum — that Albertans would save more than $600 per household in electricity costs..Rather, the PPF report released in July found that decarbonizing the grid and expanding it will cost on the order of $1.75 trillion. On Monday, Smith said about $400 to $500 billion of that cost would be borne in Alberta alone..Guilbeault reiterated that the federal government has committed about $40 billion to help Alberta and other provinces reach net-zero on their power grids..“This is a huge economic opportunity we do not want to miss,” he said. “That’s why industry and labour groups support it. Taking action to achieve net-zero is expected to create 420,000 jobs across Alberta by 2050, according to analysis by Clean Energy Canada.”
