With the population growing every day, temperatures and weather fluctuating more than ever, the power grid and how its reliability is and will continue to hold up is a question that many have. How does it work, how can we know if it will continue working properly with even more pressure on the system, and how it will impact Canadians.
Power bills and electricity bills have been higher than before over the last few years as energy prices have been climbing. There is a wide range of reasons why. Hotter summers, more power being used by air conditioning units, unexpected deep freezes in winter… More population means even more use as well – and from that, we get more pressure on the system than it’s used to, leading to brownouts and blackouts more than anticipated.
What is grid reliability and who is in charge of it?
Grid reliability is essentially the ability of an entire power grid to meet demand. Demand for electricity is of course variable, so power generators are ramped up and down to meet demands just in time. A large variety of technologies contribute to how reliable a power grid is based on different strengths and weaknesses. Electric power grids are made of plants that produce electricity, transmission infrastructure that carries that power over distances, and a distribution system that delivers power to customers. The “bulk power system” includes generation and transmission infrastructures.
Reliability describes an entire grid’s ability to handle demands and to provide adequate power at all times, even during heavier usage. A reliable grid:
- Provides sufficient electricity generation to meet projected demand.
- Withstands sudden disturbances (severe weather, national security events, large sporting events, etc. as examples that could lead to blackouts.)
Peak demands are typically in the early evening when most people are getting back home from work and vacations, and of course, during the summer and winter months when more heaters and air conditioners are being used, straining the system. “Baseload” power operates constantly to meet the consistent needs of a power grid. The U.S. and Canada use coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydropower, and geothermal power plants as baseload materials. To meet periods of increased demand, sources of electricity generation rapidly increase their output, called “ramping”. The federal government oversees the reliability of power generation and transmission in the U.S. and distributed energy system, publicity-owned utilities, and distribution systems fall under state and local control.
Canada has a similar system with provincial, federal, and municipal controls for electricity and how it’s handled. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is made up of 6 regional groups that monitor the reliability of the NERC power system. They produce reports on grid reliability for the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC maintains mandatory technical standards for reliability that are imposed on U.S. regional power grid operators.
NERC’s role in Canada is similar to its role in the United States and the enforcement programs vary between provinces, with the provincial regulators having ultimate say and power over the electrical regimes. While the process for approving NERC reliability standards varies in different Canadian jurisdictions, standards, in some cases modified to reflect the jurisdictions’ reliability regimes, and mandatory and enforceable in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Enforcement programs vary among the provinces with, again, the provincial regulators having ultimate authority for monitoring and enforcing compliance in most provinces.
Authority over electricity generation and transmission in Canada rests primarily with provincial governments. Not all jurisdictions have the necessary legal structures to name an ERO (Electric Reliability Organization.) However, all have recognized NERC as an electric reliability standards-setting organization.
The most common causes of grid reliability issues
Most power interruptions come from distribution failure rather than power supply shortages. Widespread outages caused by failure of the bulk supply are typically due to extreme weather and account for less than 5% of total service outage time. FERC recently added reliability standards to improve grid resilience in extreme weather events – which is important, considering that the weather has been increasingly extreme over the last few years.
A variety of different power generation technologies contribute to a reliable grid system, and if one of them has a malfunction or something happens, others can work to pick up the pieces. Sources of electricity include dispatchable sources that are constantly available due to a consistent supply of fuel, including coal, natural gas, hydroelectric power, and nuclear. Intermittent sources including solar and wind are not constantly available without paired energy storages. These types of energy are variable of course based on the time of year, time of day, and of course – the weather.
| Source | Benefits | Limitations |
| Coal | – Dispatchable. – Plants are operational in extreme cold. | – Stream turbines are somewhat capable of ramping. – Environmental regulation increases operating costs. – Fuel costs. |
| Natural Gas | – Dispatchable. – Reciprocating internal combustion-type plants can be quickly ramped. | – Unreliable in frigid cold. – Environmental regulation increases operating costs. – Fuel costs. |
| Nuclear | – Dispatchable. – Stream turbines are most efficient at a consistent output. | – Stream turbines are somewhat capable of ramping. – Costs from storage of spent fuel. |
| Hydropower | – Dispatchable. – Can be ramped quickly. – Low operating costs. | – Can be impacted by drought. |
| Solar | – $0 fuel costs, unlimited fuel. | – Requires energy storage for dispatchable power. |
| Wind | – $0 fuel costs, unlimited fuel. | – Requires energy storage for dispatchable power. |
Table: Benefits and limitations of reliability and affordability of energy generation sources (CRS 2022)
Long-term solutions in various countries
Different countries, states in the U.S., and Canada have varying long-term ideas and solutions to ensure that the power grid stays reliable and on when we need it most. Georgia (the state in the U.S) has stated on their grid reliability page that having safe and reliable electricity at the flip of a switch is more than a nice thing to have, it’s a necessity in today’s world. While they can’t prevent every outage, their teams are working every day to maintain the infrastructure, ensuring the system continues to reliably meet the needs of the communities.
The south of the U.S. was hit by record-breaking cold weather that took down communities’ power and heat for weeks. After that, more places looked into making sure that the grids would stay reliable and hold up against any severe storms and weather in the future that they previously weren’t focused on before now, since most of the weather in the southern states is focused on heat rather than cold, which is the opposite of Canada where our winters are much longer than our summers, even though it does get hot as well.
Georgia Transmission completed 88 infrastructure projects and modifications in 2021, including five new substations and one new transmission line project that brings the numbers up to 3,5000 miles of transmission lines and 765 substations across Georgia alone and they are continuing to invest and work with energy generators and local electric cooperatives to be protected against any severe weather.
In 2022, the United States generated 40% of its electricity from carbon-free sources, including 15% overall from wind and solar energy, both of which are now the cheapest sources of electricity, and the fastest growing. To help prepare for the seasons and years ahead, NERC recently released its annual summer reliability assessment. The United States and Canada’s ability to meet the expected summer electricity demand including an evaluation of risks associated with wildfires and drought, especially around Alberta and British Columbia, NERC provided short-term recommendations on how to overcome any shortcomings. NERC cited that aging and expensive fossil fuel power plants are a large factor in the dynamic of how well the grid stays reliable, especially with additional issues such as large wildfires and droughts.
They highlighted that increased and rapid deployment of wind, solar, and batteries make a positive difference and the tools bolstering reliability are adding new, clean generation capacity. It is an increasing focus for policymakers, utilities, system operators, and electricity consumers alike as lives depend on the power staying on – with no exaggeration.
Canada and provincial comparisons for grid reliability
Changing from fossil fuel to more sustainable and energy efficient providers. Renewables and storage are welcome as electricity demand increases and uneconomical fossil fuel plants retire. Other demand-side resources and operational changes are also in the toolbox as grid operators work quickly to manage the transition without impacting current grid reliability, while it stays safe and affordable. As a whole, especially in Alberta where fossil fuels and companies associated with them are still the major contributor, it’s been encouraged to change the system and how we evolve it going forward, especially with coal plants being shut down now and in the future.
One of the big misconceptions in the energy transition sectors is the need for baseload power or plants that are expensive to build but cheap to operate and are therefore run almost all the time. Resources need to be used together to get the best results and not be run one against the other or assume that one is better than the other, especially while the grid is on a transitioning path. Large sophisticated grids in the Midwest and Texas, for example, run on 70% or higher for wind and solar energy. Provinces such as B.C. and Quebec run almost all of their power on hydroelectricity and the numbers could get higher as the technology gets adapted and used.
In Alberta, there is AESO (Alberta Electric System Operator) that handles all of the power grid systems and how they work. The grid alert system has replaced the EEA (Energy Emergency Alert) and came into effect in 2022. The key driver for the Grid Alert process was the complexity of the EEA. The former method used a three-step approach, while the new one only has one step making it much easier to get reports out and understand where issues are coming from, giving Albertans clear and consistent information regarding energy issues without the use of industry jargon that many won’t understand and don’t need.
Ontario has a road map available that they’re introducing for their grid reliability and other electrical systems in the future. The reason they are doing so is because it focuses on Ontario’s growing population and electrical grid usage, currently and in the future. More people are moving and immigrating to Ontario, as it is the largest population in the country, and it keeps growing – they estimate that the population will grow by over 2 million by the end of the current decade.
They are quickly becoming a leader in building more electric vehicles and batteries with historic investments and are working with steel industries to end coal use and electrify operations as well to support more green steel in Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie, most notably. For the first time since 2005, Ontario’s electricity demand is rising steadily. The minister in his statement said that they understand they need to support this type of growth and ensure that the continued use and reliability of clean, good energy is important with many major projects on the way, and some already announced.
Canada’s first grid-scale small modular nuclear reactor, SMR, is a $342 million expansion of energy efficiency programs and it will be the largest storage procurement in Canada’s history.
