Deregulation of electricity in Alberta hit consumers, companies and public institutions with astronomical increases in their utility bills.
Protest efforts asking for a return to a publicly owned regulated system have fallen on deaf ears. It is clear that the way forward and the way back is equally bleak. Fortunately, a group of Canadian engineers have collaborated on a plan of action to make our current system more consumer-friendly.
The Canadian Society for Senior Engineers (CSSE) is a Member Society of The Engineering Institute of Canada. A committee of the Edmonton branch of the CSSE, using sound engineering principles and optimum use of competition, has identified a further restructuring of the electricity industry that will ensure reliable electricity service, with stable rates at the lowest possible level.
The bottom line is cheaper, more stable rates for consumers in Alberta. Detailed procedures for implementing the proposal have been identified, but the key to this proposal is quite simple. Come learn more about this breakthrough energy restructuring by one of the senior engineers that wrote the proposal.
Speaker: Keith Provost, BSc., MSc., Peng.
Mr. Provost who lives in Edmonton is retired from the position of Senior Vice President with Alberta Power Ltd. (now ATCO Electric) after 35 years in the electric utility business. His area of expertise is in electric power system operation, planning, engineering, construction, administration and regulation.
More recently, Keith has served as Chairman of the Electric Utilities Planning Council and its Steering Committee. This Council, comprised of all electrical utilities in the province, and was mandated to determine the most economical generation and transmission additions to the provincial system. Their report offers hope to the concerns expressed by many Albertans.