2005/63 (b)

BACKGROUNDER

Canada–U.S. Study on Electricity Market Competition and Grid Reliability

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have co-sponsored a joint study on the relationships among industry restructuring, competition in power markets and grid reliability. Conducting this study fulfills one of the recommendations of the Task Force report on the August 2003 North American power outage that affected an estimated 50 million people in the northeastern United States and Canada.

In order to shed light on the subject and identify the potential impact of competition on reliability, a group of authors has been invited to offer their perspectives and suggest appropriate ways to address the issue.

NRCan and the U.S. DOE have identified experts who will prepare discussion papers for this study. The authors reflect a broad range of perspectives on the bulk power system in the two countries, including those of owners, operators and users, as well as representatives from government and academia.

The list of experts includes the following:

• John Hughes, Electricity Consumers Resource Council;
• Jack Casazza, Power Engineers Supporting Truth;
• Jose Delgado, President and CEO, American Transmission Company;
• Dave Nevius, Senior Vice President, North American Electric Reliability Council;
• Dave Goulding, President and CEO, Independent Electricity System Operator;
• Phil Harris, President and CEO, PJM;
• Kellan Fluckiger, Executive Director, Electricity, Department of Energy, Government of Alberta;
• Bob Thomas, Director, Power Systems Engineering Research Centre, Cornell University;
• Scott Thon, President and CEO, AltaLink; and
• John Wilson, Energy Consultant, Ontario Electricity Coalition.

Each expert is preparing a discussion paper addressing the relationships among the ongoing restructuring of the electricity sector in the United States and Canada, competition and grid reliability. The goal of the discussion papers is to examine the potential impacts of competition on reliability and then to critically assess these impacts. In addition, the experts have been invited to offer their perspectives on appropriate next steps.

After final drafts of the discussion papers are submitted, they will be posted for public review. Two public workshops will then be held in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 2005, and in Toronto, Ontario, on September 28, 2005. At these workshops, the experts will present their analyses and conclusions in a public forum to encourage discussion and debate. A final report will include the experts' discussion papers and a summary of the public's comments on the papers received either at the workshop or through written submissions to NRCan or the DOE.

NRCan and the DOE are committed to better understanding the complex relationships between industry restructuring and reliability. These workshops will provide a forum for information to be shared among industry members, stakeholders and the public in order to better understand this complex issue.

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