“Probably more complex and consequential than any other global macro-trend,” the Canadian electricity sector’s transition to low-carbon sources is “shaping up to be no less an era-defining inflection point than was the Industrial Revolution.” That’s how the primary conclusion of the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) reads in its 2018 Sustainable Electricity Annual Report.
The report on its members’ activities for 2017 assesses utilities on five measurement ‘pillars’: advancement to a low-carbon future, infrastructure renewal and modernization, building relationships, risk management and business excellence.
At a sectoral level, Canada’s electricity industry has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 per cent since 2005 — a larger reduction than any other industrial sector — and is on track for a further 30 per cent reduction by 2030.
The report adds that the aspirational federal goal of 90 per cent emissions-free generation by 2030 is achievable, providing that the sector has the benefit of appropriate project-review regulations, other regulatory efficiencies, a competitive business environment, and the capacity to invest in infrastructure and innovation.
Also worth noting is that CEA and its members have pursued ever-more robust relationships with Indigenous groups, including extensive business arrangements and innovative partnership-based approaches on matters such as applications for regulatory approvals.
Participation in the CEA’s Sustainable Electricity™ Program is mandatory for all member utilities.
See also “Leaders hail ‘energy transformation’,” elsewhere this issue, in International news.