Pen-l-ers,
Another gem from 'Texas North' and the redneck right.
"Albertans prepare for winter in dark"
"Blackouts imminent in energy-rich province"
by Carol Harrington, Winnipeg Free Press, Nov.2, 1998
Dr. Michael Harvey is so afraid of the dark, he bought his own
generator.
The Calgary chiropractor has ominous visions of the power blackouts
predicted for Alverta this winter -- patients being zapped
during electrical muscle treatments, someone tumbling down a
dark stairwell.
Like many Albertans, Harvey is scrambling to find his own
power in this energy-rich province.
"This is just ludicrous having to do this in this modern
day," said Harvey, who doled out $10,000 for his electric
generator. "But I have to do this to protect my business."
Calgarians recently got their first tast of the imminent
blackouts, when 15,000 homes and businesses were unplugged
for 37 minutes.
The dark reality has prompted 150 people to phone a small
genrator supply store each day, looking for ways to keept
their pet birds worm or their oxygen machines running
during a blackout.
"I hear blankets, flashlights and candles and I think,
holy moly, it's Third World country stuff," said owner
John Corbett.
Just how did Canada's energy province come to this?
The answer is simple: deregulation.
Alberta has dismantled the safeguards of a regulated
system and is going through the painful birth of an open
market.
"It's a very deliverate and consultative process," said
Allen Crowley, director of power marketing for Aquila
Energy.
"They are in absolutely new territory," said Crowley,
whose company is the fourth largest marketer of American
electricity.
"They don't have a texbook to find the right answer.
They are writing each chapter as they go along."
Those are not reassuring words for Albertans, particularly
when electricity demand is precariously close to total supply.
7,640 megawatts
Generation capacity within the Alberta grid is 7,640 megawatts.
In a pinch, the province can draw another 850 megawatts from
neighbouring provinces.
With power consumption peaking at 7,222 megawatts during
last year's mild winter, the energy industry and the
Alberta government agree there likely won't be enough
to go around.
A deep-freeze winter is forecast for Alberta, where both
population and industry have been growing by leaps and bounds.
Most observers agree the shortage wouldn't be happening
under the old regulated system, where utilities operating as
a monopoly were responsible for building power plants to
ensure a reliable supply.
To safeguard against an electricity shortage, a provincial
body monitored population growth and energy supply, and
told utilities when to build new generators.
But that watchdog was put down in 1994, when the Alberta
government announced dreregulation plans."
-30-
Perhaps the Alberta Government should seek advice on how
to solve its problems from the Russians. They've got lots
of experience with deregulated markets and the consequent
screwups.
Paul Phillips,
Economics,
University of Manitoba
(and scheduled to be on the picket lines -- again -- come
next monday.)
