4 LEXPERT
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2018
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WWW.LEXPERT.CA
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
PROVINCIAL
REGULATIONS
Complex factors shape
differences in provincial
electricity system
policies and regulations
that can spur or
stymie investment
By Anthony A. Davis
hey are like the thick braids of transmission wire criss-crossing
Canada: something constantly bending under winds of change,
oen fraying over time and sometimes snapping aer storms. Po-
litical storms, that is. Just ask Ontario right now.
We're talking about Canada's complex snarl of provincial elec-
tricity market regulations; where no two provinces have harmonious
rules over electrical power generation and development, electrical
transmission, environmental assessments and other regulated aspects
of the electricity market. Some provinces are so radically different in
approach that one can be a welcoming Mecca for investment in its
electrical system. And right beside it, another province has an inhospi-
table regulatory environment and monopolistic regime where a Crown
corporation makes, sells and rules virtually every electron in the power
grid. Newcomer businesses to those electricity markets need not apply.
e provinces, says Vancouver lawyer David Bursey, a member of
the Energy Regulatory Practice Group at Bennett Jones LLP, each
have "a whole series of different social, economic and political ex-
periments" that affect the current state and development of their
electrical infrastructure.
A TANGLED WEB
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