The Alberta government is making more changes to how it handles electricity as it transitions out of coal-fired power.
The province is giving the entity that brokers the electricity system —known as the balancing pool — the ability to borrow money from the province to manage its funding obligations so those costs don’t get passed on to consumers.
READ MORE: Alberta changing how it produces and pays for electricity
The balancing pool was set up when Alberta deregulated electricity two decades ago, but Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd says that was a flawed approach.
She says power companies are now returning money-losing power contracts to the balancing pool and any outstanding costs are passed on to ratepayers.
McCuaig-Boyd says other changes will keep electricity costs low and stable as Alberta shuts down all coal-fired electricity by 2030.
READ MORE: Alberta makes deal with power producers to phase out coal by 2030
The province has also hired Robert Bhatia, a former senior civil servant, to be the new chairman of the balancing pool’s board of directors.
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