Alberta has the third largest natural gas distribution system in the country, and it serves as a key piece of an integrated energy delivery network that provides significant energy affordability and environmental benefits for its households and businesses. What follows is a summary of energy use in the province and the role that natural gas plays in the province’s energy system.
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This newsletter and supporting database contain the authorized ROEs and common equity ratios for over 40 Canadian electric and gas utilities. For comparison purposes, the newsletter also presents the average and median authorized ROEs and common equity ratios for U.S. gas and electric distributors, as reported by SNL Financial's Regulatory Research Associates.
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In April, 2015, the Department of Energy (DOE) released the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). The QER recognized that the energy relationship between the U.S. and Canada is highly intertwined, and noted opportunities to collaborate on initiatives to promote clean energy and environmental responsibility. DOE stated that the development of the QER provided an opportunity to engage Canada “in a deeper dialogue on the integrated nature of North American energy systems – including transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure.” Among the recommendations included in the QER to further enhance North American energy integration was integration of energy data between the U.S. and Canada, undertaking comparative and joint energy system modeling, planning and forecasting between the U.S. and Canada, and establishing collaborative programs to harmonize regulations across the border.
Read more about comments of the Canadian Gas Association on the Quadrennial Energy Review second installment(QER 1.2)
Approximately 200,000 people live in nearly 300 remote communities spread across Canada that are disconnected from central energy supplies. These remote energy markets are ‘off-grid’ regions of Canada that are not connected to the North American electrical grid or to natural gas distribution pipelines. In these remote regions, reliable and cost-effective energy supply are a challenge for communities and industry, and serve as a barrier to economic development. Remote communities and industry typically rely on diesel, propane, or other fuel oils for heating and to generate their own power, all of which have to be shipped in by truck, rail, or marine vessel.
In many remote regions of Canada, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is increasingly being considered as an option to meet energy requirements. Advances in the technology used to liquefy, transport, and re-vaporize natural gas, have made LNG a viable option for remote customers. ICF worked with the CGA and Canadian natural gas distribution utilities to define the scope of expansions and type of customers that would be reached.
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As governments – both provincial and federal – discuss lower GHG emissions pathways, renewable natural gas (RNG or biomethane) presents a significant and largely untapped opportunity for GHG emission-free energy for our country. Using RNG means putting renewable energy directly in an existing pipeline: showing how pipes can deliver the benefits of renewables as efficiently (and often more cost-effectively) than electric wires.
This publication outlines the potential for RNG in Canada including its role in the reduction of GHG emissions, its value as an affordable renewable energy option for natural gas markets, and the role natural gas utilities can play in delivering this clean renewable product to Canadians.
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