British Columbia is setting out to restore full capacity to the high-voltage transmission lines linking its power grid with Alberta’s, a move experts call a “no-regrets” decision that advances the electrification goals of both provinces.
In its Clean Energy Strategy released this June, B.C. advocates for “fair access” to neighbouring Alberta’s electricity markets through the BC-Alberta intertie, a 500-kilovolt transmission line running from Cranbrook, B.C., to near Calgary, and two smaller transmission lines. The Intertie was constructed in 1986, before Alberta deregulated its electricity market in the 1990s.
“In March 2023, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) chose to unilaterally reduce the import capacity of the Intertie,” B.C. officials write in the strategy document. “This restricts B.C. from selling clean electricity to Alberta customers despite the fact that B.C. provides non-discriminatory access along the intertie that allows Alberta to export gas-fired electricity through B.C. to the United States.”
The document adds: “Intertie access is intended to be reciprocal, and B.C. will continue to advocate for Alberta to lift these restrictions.”
Protectionism Plays Out
More than 90% of the electricity traded by Powerex, BC Hydro’s trading subsidiary, is with western states in the U.S. But the province also trades with Alberta through the intertie, which is jointly regulated by BC Hydro and the AESO and helps support grid stability in both provinces.
“B.C. and Alberta have complementary electricity systems, week-to-week and seasonally,” Jason Wang, acting electricity director for the Pembina Institute, told The Energy Mix in an email.
“When it is windy or sunny in Alberta, B.C. can import low-cost renewable electricity, decreasing the draw down on its hydro reserves,” Wang wrote. “At the same time, when wind and solar generation are low in Alberta, B.C. can export to the neighbouring province, taking advantage of the higher electricity prices.”
The collaboration along the Intertie will only become more important as sectors electrify and increase electricity demand in both provinces, Wang added.
But the AESO restricted the import capacity along the Intertie in 2023, and hence B.C.’s sales to Alberta.
“What is said publicly, is exposing Alberta’s free market to B.C.’s cheap hydropower could be a disadvantage to producers in Alberta,” Evan Pivnick, program manager for Clean Energy Canada, told The Mix. “So there’s this huge reluctance to allow this sort of trade to occur.”
“At least publicly, the commentary is always that we’re seeing provincial protectionism playing out here.”
Affordability, Reliability at Stake
The push to restore the intertie was among the “many good things” in B.C.’s plan, Scott MacDougall, Pembina Institute’s electricity program director, wrote in a LinkedIn post. “Fixing the BC-AB electricity intertie and removing capacity restraints is very relevant to Albertans’ energy affordability and reliability.”
The intertie’s value was put on display this past winter when the AESO lifted the restrictions to avoid rolling blackouts during a January, 2024 cold snap. Increased interconnection also decreases costs in both regions, found one 2023 study by Navius research, “as B.C.’s high-volume hydroelectric reservoirs enable the development of Alberta’s wind and solar resources.” Expanding the intertie capacity to 1,500 megawatts, with steadily increasing savings at higher levels of interconnection, could result in savings of C$200 million, Navius found.
Separately, the Alberta Chambers of Commerce found the restrictions imposed by the AESO on interties to B.C. and Montana resulted in Albertan ratepayers paying an additional $300 million to $500 million on their electricity bills.
B.C. says in the strategy that it will continue to advocate for Alberta to lift the restrictions: “Although it may limit competition for natural gas-fired generators in Alberta, delaying full restoration of the Intertie undermines the value of having an interconnected grid and ultimately increases electricity rates for both British Columbians and Albertans.”
Pivnick said there may soon be progress on this front, and that there is “more reason for optimism around transmission conversations than ever before.”
The Wider Decarbonization Story
The discussions between B.C. and Alberta take place against the backdrop of nation-wide efforts to decarbonize electricity generation, Pivnick said. Exchanging clean electricity between the provinces—from hydropower in B.C., and from the expanding wind and solar resources in Alberta—could help both provinces reduce electricity emissions. But like in other interprovincial discussions, restoring the BC-Alberta Intertie will require cooperation that highlights the intertie’s benefits and determines areas of mutual interest.
“The fundamental challenge in Canada, writ large, and certainly between B.C. and Alberta, is we have not properly built a benefits framework that allows the benefits to B.C. to be equal to the benefits to Alberta,” said Pivnick. He added that a similar dynamic played out with the Atlantic Loop that “became far less than it could have been, in part because certain provinces saw themselves losing in what was proposed.”
“If we really want to move this forward,” he suggested, “let’s figure out how we can agree on definitions of the different benefits to each province, and then let’s have a conversation about the projects from there, rather than start with the project and then try to make the math work.”
Wang said Alberta is now also actively seeking to expand its electricity imports and exports with neighbours, “especially as the growth of clean generation in Alberta is leading to new export opportunities.” The Alberta government has said electricity interties are included in memoranda of understanding to “expand economic corridors” with nearby Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories, he added.
“Restoration of the intertie would be mutually beneficial: a no-regret action for both provinces,” Wang said.
“Regional collaboration between Alberta and B.C. is imperative to ensuring the restoration happens in a timely manner, and there is federal money available to support it,” he added. “We’re seeing plenty of examples of such collaboration in the U.S. across multiple jurisdictions which we hope that Alberta and B.C. can learn from and replicate.”
