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.
Vice-President, Integrated Energy Information and Analysis, National Energy Board
Yes.
Vice-President, Integrated Energy Information and Analysis, National Energy Board
There's no national oversight. Each province would regulate the piece up to the border.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
Do the provinces just get together and make an agreement without any...?
Vice-President, Integrated Energy Information and Analysis, National Energy Board
Yes.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
Okay. You indicated about the study, the outlook, that it's the first one in 50 years—
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
No. It's been 50 years ongoing.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
Ongoing, okay. That's quite a difference.
I want you to expand a bit on what you said earlier about interties being good for renewables, and you indicated more battery storage and less reliance on coal. I want you to expand a bit on your comment about the interties being good. Is there anything in your outlook that addresses those three elements?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
My comment was that the interties are one of a number of methods that can be used to increase the integration of renewables. In one of our scenarios, our technology scenario, the high-tech thing, there were a number of changes that were assumed to happen on both the production and consumption sides. One of them was relaxing the constraints on integration of renewables by interties or grid storage battery. The outcome of that is shown in that particular scenario.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
In the outlook, have you looked from a provincial perspective at the country's aging infrastructure? Have you looked at some of the challenges of coal and smog or some of the issues on energy security? Have you looked at any of those elements in your outlook and your studies?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
When we do the electricity sector in those outlooks, we look at a number of things, Statistics Canada data, etc., but we also look at the plans of the utilities and the provinces. To the extent that those things are incorporated in those plans, and they are, then that would feed into what we incorporate in our models.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
What is considered when the board reviews a permanent application for electricity exports? What are you specifically looking at when you're looking at increasing the exports?
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
There are two main things that we look at. One is fair market access. Did Canadians get the opportunity to buy that electricity on similar terms and conditions? Then there is the reliability of the provinces. Do adjacent provinces have any concern about them? That's really a reliability concern. Those are the two main things we are required to look at according to the NEB Act.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
In the act or any of your studies, have you looked at the issue of energy security and also NAFTA? Have there been any studies linked to NAFTA?
Vice-President, Integrated Energy Information and Analysis, National Energy Board
Not specifically. We haven't done any study specific to NAFTA, if you're referring to the recent concerns that NAFTA may not endure. We have not done a study looking at that impact on electricity.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
Have you looked at any benefits that NAFTA has had or will have in the future? I'm not necessarily looking at the current negotiations.
October 18th, 2017 / 5:05 p.m.
Liberal
Liberal
Kim Rudd Liberal Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
I know we were talking about Generation Energy, and you were in Winnipeg with us last week. There were over 700 people there, international, as you know, and you observed some of the panels.
We had a dialogue with Canadians. There were 150 Canadians from all walks of life across the country who came in for two days to talk to us. I was struck by the passion that they have for our energy systems going forward.
I wonder if you, as a regulator, might have some sort of perspective on what you heard that you feel may impact the work you do or that we could learn from through what you do.
Chief Economist, National Energy Board
That's a very good question. One of the things that struck me—and I was on a panel dealing with this—was the need for better information, better data on energy. Whenever we do these analyses, and we do them regularly, it takes a great deal of our staff's time and effort to come up with what the current situation is. When we're looking at policy and changes to the energy system, if we had better.... What is the current state of events? We also have very poor information in Canada with respect to renewables. We have struggled to try to fill that gap. We've put out renewables reports, but there is much work that could be done on the data side of that.
Liberal
