The Federal Government recently released its long-awaited Clean Electricity Regulations. Although the regulations have now relaxed the deadline for a national net-zero electricity grid to 2050, the regulations do send a clear message that building new fossil fuel generation cannot continue. Despite the compromise on the urgency and the higher emissions standard of 65 tCO2/GWh (which drops to 0tCO2/GWh in 2050), these regulations are a critical step to replacing fossil energy with clean energy. For reference, Saskatchewan’s present emissions intensity for our electricity is 10X greater than the standard of 65tCO2/GWh which will be implemented Jan 1, 2035.
The new CERs also include provisions for existing plants, opportunities to pool emissions or purchase offsets, and allow emergency operation. The analysis of the new CERs suggest that there will be no impact on the affordability or reliability of our electricity. In fact, as households switch from fossil fuels to electricity, their overall energy bills are expected to drop.
We know that addressing climate change requires replacing fossil fuel energy with clean energy. The CERs are an important policy piece that will help accelerate that transition in the electricity sector. With the prospect of affordable and reliable clean electricity, switching from dirty fossil fuel energy will bring even more benefits to all Canadians in the near future!
More information can be found here: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/energy-sources-distribution/electricity-infrastructure/powering-canadas-future-clean-electricity-strategy/26533