Enhancing the resilience of Canadian electricity systems for a net zero future

The document analyzes how climate change and the transition to net zero impact the reliability and resilience of Canada's electricity grid. It identifies risks across generation, transmission, and distribution, and proposes solutions such as infrastructure hardening, increasing system flexibility, and updating regulatory frameworks and building codes.

• Climate change threatens all components of the electricity system, with hydroelectricity generation specifically vulnerable to changes in temperature, precipitation, and glacier melt. In British Columbia, increased precipitation may expand generation potential by mid-century, but primarily in spring rather than summer peak demand periods. Conversely, in Quebec, lower water levels and flows could lead to significant negative financial implications.
• Transmission and distribution infrastructure face efficiency and reliability risks from rising temperatures, which decrease the capacity of power lines to transmit electricity during peak summer demand. Severe weather events, including wildfires, tornadoes, and ice storms, can damage poles and towers, while increased vegetation growth and lightning frequency further elevate the risk of power outages.
• Electricity demand is projected to rise due to the electrification of end uses and increased air conditioning needs. National peak electricity demand is estimated to increase by 9% by mid-century and between 13% and 17% by 2100. This creates a risk of mismatched supply and demand, particularly as wind generation often peaks in winter and at night, while air conditioning demand peaks in summer.
• Proactive resilience measures can significantly reduce economic losses; early interventions could reduce damage costs by 80% by the end of the century, amounting to as much as $3.1 billion annually. Recommended strategies include hardening infrastructure (e.g., burying power lines), increasing system flexibility through energy storage and smart grids, and improving energy efficiency to reduce overall demand pressures.
• Current regulatory and utility mandates often prioritize short-term reliability over long-term resilience, creating a barrier to adaptation investment. Regulators are often reluctant to allow rate increases for resilience projects because the benefits are hard to measure and have uncertain timelines of return.
• Existing codes and standards, such as the Canadian Electrical Code, are often based on past climate assumptions and do not require new infrastructure to account for future risks. There is also a significant gap in available data regarding specific climate hazards like wind and ice storms, and a lack of consensus on performance metrics for evaluating resilience.

APA

Kanduth, A., Clark, D., Dion, J., Lee, C., Ness, R., & Street, R. (n.d.). Enhancing the resilience of Canadian electricity systems for a net zero future. Canadian Climate Institute. https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Resiliency-scoping-paper-ENGLISH-Final.pdf

Chicago

Kanduth, Anna, Dylan Clark, Jason Dion, Caroline Lee, Ryan Ness, and Roger Street. Enhancing the resilience of Canadian electricity systems for a net zero future. Canadian Climate Institute, n.d. https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Resiliency-scoping-paper-ENGLISH-Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kanduth |first1=Anna |last2=Clark |first2=Dylan |last3=Dion |first3=Jason |last4=Lee |first4=Caroline |last5=Ness |first5=Ryan |last6=Street |first6=Roger |title=Enhancing the resilience of Canadian electricity systems for a net zero future |publisher=Canadian Climate Institute |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Resiliency-scoping-paper-ENGLISH-Final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kanduthndenhancing, author = {Kanduth, Anna and Clark, Dylan and Dion, Jason and Lee, Caroline and Ness, Ryan and Street, Roger}, title = {{Enhancing the resilience of Canadian electricity systems for a net zero future}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Resiliency-scoping-paper-ENGLISH-Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }