Alberta must fiercely defend provincial control over its electricity system against federal proposals for a centrally organized national grid. Thus utilities economist Edgardo Sepulveda, tonight's guest on Hannaford. The Trudeau-Carney government recently released a national electricity strategy to promote the idea of shifting power flows from traditional North-South trade to what Ottawa is pitching as greater East-West integration. .While framed as a patriotic reliability measure, Sepulveda says the plan risks eroding Alberta’s hard-won jurisdictional authority, raising costs, undermining reliability, and weakening the province’s economic sovereignty."If you care a lot about Alberta independence, what Mr. Carney is offering in this paper is not for you. Because you would lose that agency that you have just discussed. You wouldn't be able to control your own power.”.Speaking on Hannaford, Sepulveda, who recently published a detailed critique of the federal report via the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, dismantles the government narrative. It's all very well, he says, for Ottawa to say the east-west flow should be better but based on his 70-year dataset, interprovincial trade in electricity has often exceeded North-South flows. But, line losses over vast distances, combined with differing provincial priorities, make a distant national operator less practical than targeted, shorter regional ties.Canada already maintains one of the world’s most reliable and expansive electricity systems, built on over a century of provincial jurisdiction. Provinces have tailored generation, transmission, and markets to local resources and needs. Alberta, in particular, operates a wholesale market and has historically limited interties to preserve autonomy – a deliberate policy choice that Sepulveda says mirrors those made by jurisdictions like Texas.True, the January 2023 cold snap illustrated Alberta’s vulnerabilities. A near-blackout was narrowly averted thanks to emergency imports from British Columbia. Federal proponents argue that a national grid would prevent such crises through better East-West connectivity..However, a true national grid would require unbundling vertically integrated utilities, centralizing transmission control, and converging prices across provinces. Hydro-rich provinces (BC, Manitoba, Quebec) currently earn substantial export revenues that subsidize their lower domestic rates. They would fiercely resist any arrangement that erodes this advantage. For Alberta, the implications are double-edged: potential access to lower-cost imports during shortages, but at the steep price of surrendering policy control. A federal or national system operator would override provincial decisions on generation mix, pricing, and reliability standards. Alberta’s ability to respond nimbly to its own booming demand – driven by population growth, job creation, and energy-intensive industry– would be compromised.The federal strategy’s analysis overstates inefficiencies and underplays existing strengths. Calls for action may appear modest now, but the underlying logic paves the way for inducements, incentives, and eventual loss of agency. Constitutionally, electricity generation remains a provincial matter. Ottawa’s push, amplified by sovereignty concerns and net-zero timelines, threatens to centralize power in a way that disadvantages resource-driven provinces..Alberta’s deregulated market has delivered high prices and reliability challenges during tight supply periods. Yet the solution lies in provincial reforms – not ceding control to Ottawa. As Alberta powers much of Canada’s economic growth, maintaining sovereignty over electricity is essential for affordability, reliability, and prosperity. Weakening provincial authority through a national grid would represent a major step backward, exposing the province to distant decision-making that may not align with Alberta’s interests or realities.Policymakers in Edmonton should engage the federal consultation forcefully, highlight existing strengths, and reject any framework that dilutes provincial control. Alberta’s electricity future must remain in Alberta’s hands.The Hannaford podcast will be uploaded at seven o'clock.
