Showcasing Strathmore

By Leela Sharon Aheer Chestermere-Strathmore MLA

Hello Strathmore! The Strathmore Stampede starts Aug. 2, so get ready for some fantastic entertainment and the hospitality that Strathmore is famous for. I am thrilled to be attending the Strathmore parade, rodeo and many other events. We will be in the parade with the help of our dear friends Verne and Connie and their beautiful horses and wagons along with lots of candy. Elvis the Wonder Dog will be with me looking for hugs and kisses as well. Please join MP Martin Shields and I for hotdogs at Kinsmen Park afterwards starting at 11 a.m. A $2 donation to the Strathmore Library gets you a hotdog, chips and a freezie. We are trying to get some “square paper drinking box thingies” for water, as our Prime Minister puts it, but you may have to settle for a regular paper cup since he seems to be the only person in Canada that has seen them.
I wanted to talk a bit about electricity. As I write this, the wind is providing 96 MW, or 0.9 per cent of Alberta’s 10026 required generation, far less than the rated 1445 MW of wind generation installed (check out http://ets.aeso.ca/ets_web/ip/Market/Reports/CSDReportServlet if you want to watch our generation mix: it updates about every five minutes). I have written many articles before describing what I think is the best model and why and so I would like to take some time to describe the outcomes of our working groups and why we are staying with an energy-only market instead of the NDP “capacity” market. Basically, a capacity market pays people to have generation available whether it is being used or not. We consulted with many stakeholders across the province to make this determination. The energy-only market works like this: generators of electricity are paid for the electricity that they produce, and they are paid wholesale, and that can move around.
The companies that generate decide on what types of generation to do and they decide what facilities they want to use to create that generation. Capacity works like this: private generators are paid through something called the spot market, and it is a mix of competitive contracts that are auctioned and that pays their fixed capital costs and their revenue. The government arm of this would be the Alberta Electric Systems Operator who then administers the contracts and buys capacity. The energy-only market was approved by the stakeholders because it is simple, it is affordable, it gives the right market indicators for a competitive market, and it takes renewables into the mix as well without overcharging you, the ratepayer.
We will be amending this legislation in the next session. This renews certainty in the electricity system as well as investor confidence. Recently, Germany has had a crash with their wind power as they could not sustain the subsidies or keep up with the maintenance. The need to review our market-based system was best for all of us as we cannot keep experimenting with the market. It drives away competition and makes it more expensive for all of us.
We presently have 5,000 megawatts of natural gas, wind and solar contracts approved by the province. These projects create jobs and bring you the best price, that is fair and reliable. Did you know that we have been operating an energy-only market since 1996 in Alberta? It has provided consumers with some of the lowest electricity costs in North America and that is a huge competitive advantage for Alberta. Let’s keep it that way.
You may reach my office at 403-207-9889 or email (chestermere.strathmore@assembly.ab.ca). My Strathmore office is open for summer hours Tuesday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 129 Second Avenue (closed this week for holidays). Please call ahead at 403-962-0126 for an appointment. As always, we love to hear from you!
(Leela Sharon Aheer is the MLA Elect for Chestermere-Strathmore, Minister of Status of Women and Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism)