I hope you had a good Thanksgiving weekend!
I’ve been thinking about electricity stories from opposite sides of the country.
One involves a proposed $72 billion merger between two Canadian energy companies. The other is about electricity bills in New Brunswick.
At first glance, they don’t have much in common. But they’re both part of a much bigger question we’re going to be dealing with across Canada.
We need more electricity. A lot more. So who’s going to build it, and who’s going to pay for it?
Here’s what had my attention this week:
WHAT HAD MY ATTENTION
A $72 Billion Bet on the Future
Last week, Alberta’s Canadian Utilities, part of ATCO, and Nova Scotia’s Emera announced plans to combine into a massive energy and utility company.
If approved, the combined company would serve approximately six million customers and have an enterprise value of about $72 billion.
That’s an enormous deal between two Canadian companies. But what caught my attention wasn’t just the size.
It was why they’re doing it.
Electricity demand is growing. With data centres, industrial development, and new technologies on the rise, a substantial amount of energy is needed to keep things running.
And building that infrastructure takes an extraordinary amount of money.
The proposed combined company has outlined approximately $32 billion in capital investment through 2030.
That’s not just talk about what the future might look like. That’s a plan to put serious money behind it.
THE SMART ENOUGH QUESTION:
When companies make decisions involving this much money, what are they seeing about the future that the rest of us should be paying attention to?
THE SMART ENOUGH TAKE:
I pay attention to where companies are willing to invest. When companies commit billions of dollars, they’re making a bet on what they believe will happen.
Of course, big mergers aren’t automatically good for customers, and this one still needs regulatory approvals.
But it tells me something important.
The companies responsible for delivering our energy are preparing for a future that requires a whole lot more of it.
More Electricity. Higher Bills. Who Pays?
New Brunswick Power has proposed electricity rate increases averaging 5.5% per year for the next three years. For a typical residential customer, that would mean about $500 more a year by 2030. Dang!
The utility says much of the increase is needed to maintain and modernize aging infrastructure and keep electricity reliable.
That’s before we even get to the bigger challenge of supplying all the electricity we’ll need for future growth. This is where the national conversation about electricity gets personal.
We hear about the need for new power plants, transmission lines, and other infrastructure to support economic growth.
Great. We want investment, jobs, and new businesses. Infrastructure doesn’t grow on trees, someone has to pay the tab.
And people already paying electricity bills might reasonably ask why they should be footing the bill for future growth.
THE SMART ENOUGH QUESTION:
If we’re building electricity infrastructure to attract new industries and grow our economy, how much of that cost should existing customers pay?
And how much should be paid by new customers, investors, or governments?
THE SMART ENOUGH TAKE:
We need to get better at talking about electricity as both a household necessity and an economic investment. Those aren’t always the same thing.
A new transmission line might help bring a major employer to a community. That’s good for jobs and economic activity. But if it also raises electricity bills, people deserve to understand the costs and the benefits.
We need enough electricity to grow, but it has to remain affordable enough for people to live and businesses to compete.
That’s a challenge worth paying attention to, no matter which province you live in.
WORTH YOUR WHILE
NB Power’s proposed three-year rate plan is a good example of the choices utilities and customers are facing across the country.
CHECK OUT THE CTV ARTICLE HERE
WHAT I’M WATCHING
LNG Canada: The Next Pieces Are Falling Into
Place
Remember the big LNG Canada Phase 2 investment decision we talked about a couple of weeks ago?
We’re already seeing what comes next.
TC Energy has now completed a deal giving five First Nations an economic interest in Coastal GasLink, the pipeline that supplies natural gas to LNG Canada.
It’s the first of two planned Indigenous investment transactions, with another expected before the end of the year. Coastal GasLink is preparing to nearly double its capacity to support LNG Canada Phase 2, using the existing pipeline route and adding compressor stations.
This is what I’m watching.
A big investment decision is important. But then come the partnerships, contracts, construction plans, and thousands of jobs that make the investment real.
We’re already seeing some of those pieces fall into place. And I expect there will be plenty more to watch.
Read the Coastal GasLink Indigenous investment story
SMART ENOUGH IN 90 SECONDS:
Why Electricity Demand Matters to You
You might be thinking, “So what? I’m not planning to use twice as much electricity in my house.”
Same heat. Same lights. Same screen time.
Fair enough.
But electricity demand isn’t just about what you use at home. It’s about what we need to power the rest of our economy. The decisions we’re making about electricity now will affect our bills, our jobs, and what we can build for years to come.
ONE LYNNIE THOUGHT
Thanksgiving was a quiet one for me this year.
I’ve got lots to be thankful for when I look back over the past year. Good people in my life, new experiences, and plenty of reasons to smile.
But one thing I’m particularly thankful for this year is the courage to try new things and step outside some old habits.
It’s not always easy. I like what I know, and there’s something pretty appealing about sticking with what works.
But some of the best parts of this year have come from trying something new, even when I wasn’t entirely sure how it would turn out.
And I’m glad I did.
See you next week!
Lynn