Alberta triggers Sovereignty Act in attempt to fight draft federal clean energy regulations

It adds that the federal proposal “intrudes into an area of exclusive provincial jurisdiction”.

The government said its new resolution aims to ensure that Albertans have access to reliable and affordable power, safeguarding against risks of blackouts and soaring costs.

Efforts to work with Ottawa on the regulations and set a target for Alberta to reach a carbon-neutral power grid by 2050 have not worked out, according to Smith.

“Unfortunately, after months of meetings, they continue to reject this opportunity and remain committed to an absurdly unrealistic and unattainable goal of a net-zero power grid by 2035,” Smith said.

“We are left with no choice but to create a shield to protect Albertans from Ottawa’s dangerous and unconstitutional electricity regulations,” the premier added.

“They may be willing to expose Albertans to high costs, blackouts and brownouts, but we are not, and we will continue to ensure Albertans are protected from these destructive and unconstitutional federal policies.”

Monday’s resolution marks another escalation in tensions between Alberta and the ruling Liberal-New Democrat supply-and-demand government in Ottawa.

Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Ottawa is open to amending the regulations to address concerns like those Alberta has raised.

He says that could include allowing existing gas plants to operate longer before having to install technology to trap greenhouse-gas emissions.

Wilkinson says he thought a Canada-Alberta working group on energy and climate policy had made good progress and he’s baffled by Smith’s move.

The Sovereignty Act, which the government says allows the province to reject federal laws or regulations when it thinks they cause harm to Alberta, was passed by Smith’s government last year.

‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL TEMPER-TANTRUM’

Opposition leader and New Democrat Rachel Notley, during Question Period, said the premier should halt her efforts to fight the federal government and tackle the threat of climate change.

“Why won’t she just drop this unconstitutional temper-tantrum and instead focus on securing Alberta’s economic future,” Notley said.

“The UCP is invoking a dishonest and illegal stunt that jeopardizes investment certainty, breaches treaty rights across the country, weakens national unity, and embarrasses Albertans on the global stage,” Notley added in a statement Monday.

ALBERTA SAYS FED GOALS UNREALISTIC

The federal CERs propose unrealistic rules with Criminal Code violations to achieve net-zero electricity by 2035, the Alberta government said.

Officials argue Alberta’s power grid needs more baseload power from natural gas but the proposed CERs have created uncertainty and are driving away investment, threatening the economic well-being of Albertans.

Alberta’s grid had seven alerts during colder months in 2022 and had three alerts in summer 2023.

This underscored the importance of having sufficient stable baseload power sources like
gas, hydro and nuclear available year-round, officials said.

The government added that it must continue to rely on a diverse mix of intermittent and baseload options to prevent future brownouts and blackouts and maintain a reliable grid.

PUBLIC COMPANIES TO IGNORE FEDERAL REGULATIONS

The Alberta government wants its existing publicly-owned companies to ignore the federal CERs and it will explore creating a Crown corporation to snatch up assets that the private sector may avoid due to the regulations.

The new Sovereignty Act resolution will order provincially-owned power companies to ignore the CERs.

It will not apply to private businesses or individuals.

“I cannot give direction to a private sector company to defy the law,” Smith said during a news conference.

The provincial government also wants a way to fill any gaps left by private companies pressured by federal rules.

The government will work with the power industry and its regulators to look into the feasibility of creating a Crown corporation to bring more reliable and affordable electricity onto the grid, according to the proposed legislation.

The Crown corporation would also be empowered to build or buy up assets like natural gas power plants that private industry won’t take on because of the federal CERs.

“If we operate a Crown corporation, we will do it on the basis that we’re only stepping in so that we can make sure that we preserve power.”

— with files from the Canadian Press

by Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Alberta triggers Sovereignty Act in attempt to fight draft federal clean energy regulations

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