Coal news and updates

Alberta’s first coal plant in Edmonton Alberta Archives

Under the system, the lowest priced electricity is bought and dispatched to the grid first. To ensure generators are able to recoup their cost of production, the existing rules allow them offer their power at prices above their marginal cost.

In a statement, the department of Utilities and Affordability said economic withholding was initially designed two decades ago — when coal was the dominant source of power — as a legitimate tool to encourage new investment in the Alberta’s power market, leading to lower prices in the long-term. 

That all changed when the accelerated phaseout of baseload coal six years early and the ensuing emphasis on intermittent renewables altered Alberta’s supply mix. 

The negative impacts of economic withholding would normally be offset by having adequate competition in the market. However, the accelerated coal phaseout “significantly increased the impact of economic withholding on ratepayers, beyond the original intent of the policy.”