Evidence of meeting #68 for Natural Resources in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was electricity.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Which ones would do that? Give me an example. I'll give you an example. The Manitoba-Minnesota transmission project that's being proposed, is that within your jurisdiction?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
It's within our jurisdiction, and it's under a permit process, so the detailed route hearing would be under provincial regulation.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
You'd have no jurisdiction or contributions to make in that aspect?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
In terms of the detailed routing, no. The board recently approved the Lake Erie transmission line. That was a certificate, so in that case, the board has some jurisdiction over detailed routing.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
You also indicated that there are no interprovincial NEB-jurisdiction transmission lines.
Vice-President, Integrated Energy Information and Analysis, National Energy Board
Correct.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Why would that be? Are power corporations concerned about your regulatory practices?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
GIC has never sought to tell the board to regulate an interprovincial line.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Was the Bipole III in Manitoba under your jurisdiction as well?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
I don't know about that specific line. There are 85 international power lines that we regulate. The majority of them aren't major, so I'm not sure whether that fits in the 85, but there are many between Manitoba and the states below it.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
When you consider a transmission line, do you take into consideration what that will do to the end cost of the product?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
The board's regulation is over the facilities of international power lines. It hears from all parties in a proceeding, so parties can make their case on whatever. However, we should be clear that, unlike pipelines, the board doesn't regulate the tolls and tariffs on those power lines.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Okay, but my question was on whether you consider the end cost to the consumer.
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
That generally is something that comes up in the context of the tolls. I don't think, in most cases, the parties would bring that up as an issue in proceedings. I don't know that it's never come up, but normally it's around the facilities, environment, the engineering, etc.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Our study here is around interties. Would you see there being a benefit to increasing the amount of provincial interties that we currently have?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
If they were economic, there's certainly benefit.
When you're trying to integrate renewables, there are a number of things you can do. Increasing interties is one of them, more battery storage, more flexibility around your baseload, some demand-side management. Interties is certainly one of those things that would help integrate renewables.
Liberal
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
Thank you both for coming back before us for this.
I want to start off with questions, and I don't who might answer, but anybody can jump in.
When you were talking about power and power lines for export, you said you could put conditions on those export agreements or whatever. You said if you had some concerns you could do this or that. I'm wondering what concerns you might have and how they are expressed.
Have you ever refused—
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
An international power line...?
NDP
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
The board did refuse the Sumas, which was an international power line from Abbotsford down into the States. That's the one that comes to mind.
