Alberta’s energy sector is the driving force behind the province’s economy. Alberta owns 81 per cent of its energy resources, and the development of those resources is the largest contributor of Alberta’s GDP. It is also part of the reason Alberta has such an expansive network of energy providers. Not only do a wealthy supply of resources and a deregulated energy market make for a diverse energy industry, but it also allows for diversification within companies, a factor that soon leads those companies to expand and branch off into subsidiary companies.
Capital Power is a prime example of the way energy companies have branched off of one another to define the shape of Alberta’s energy industry.
How it all started
What is now known as Capital Power was originally formed by the creation of the Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Company (EEL&PC) back in 1891. Its first power plant was powered by a hand-stoked, coal-fired steam boiler on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River before developing one of the world’s first 10,000 kW turbo-generators in 1928, Canada’s largest steam boiler in 1931, and Canada’s largest thermal plant in 1941. Even then, the success and growth of the company hinged on its ability to expand its capacity by diversifying its energy production sources.
In 1970, EEL&PC became Edmonton Power, a company that quickly became a leader in fossil fuel power generation, focussing on the expansion of its natural gas sources along with the development of its coal-fired sources. Then, in 1995, Edmonton Power incorporated EPCOR Utilities Inc. as a standalone entity with the City of Edmonton as shareholder. EPCOR came along in time to capitalize on the deregulation of the energy market.
EPCOR Energy Alberta GP Inc. (EEA GPI), or EPCOR Energy Services, soon formed as a subsidiary of EPCOR Utilities, and as the regulated counterpart to Encor by EPCOR. In 2009, the decision was made to split EPCOR Utilities into two separate companies, with one that would be publicly owned by the shareholder, the City of Edmonton (EPCOR), and another that would be created as an independent power producer through a transfer of assets from EPCOR and the issuance of a 25 per cent IPO by EPCOR Utilities: Capital Power.
The influence on today’s energy industry
Today, Capital Power continues to develop its power generation by developing, expanding, and acquiring a diverse range of fuels from a variety of energy sources.
Capital Power currently owns more than 3,200 megawatts of power generation capacity at 18 facilities across North America, and has more projects in production.
Originally founded in coal and natural gas, Capital Power maintains production of a number of coal-fired and natural gas sources, with more planned for production across Canada and throughout the US. In addition, however, Capital Power also owns and is in the planning stages of developing multiple green energy sources across North America, including wind and solar projects throughout the US and Canada.
The innovations that led to the development of Capital Power are exemplary of the processes of expansion that have shaped the landscape of Alberta’s energy industry today—and the diversification that will continue to lead the industry towards further economic strength and development.
