Alberta wants to pull the plug on its electricity Balancing Pool, a one-time money-gushing feature of its power system that would end its life as a political quagmire.

The hiring marks the second time the UCP government has appointed a former Alberta Party leader to a prominent position with a provincial entity.

A rural municipality west of Edmonton is crying foul after an Alberta statutory corporation recommended the termination of three of the province's power purchase agreements from a TransAlta power plant in Wabamun, Alta.