Clean Electricity Regulations - Public Update

Clean Energy Canada and the Canadian Climate Institute advocate for the rapid finalization of the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) to provide investment certainty for non-emitting generation. They support a flexible performance standard and an emissions pooling approach but warn against excessive flexibility that could incentivize the continued use of natural gas as a baseload resource. The authors recommend a performance standard of no more than 60 tonnes of CO2 per GWh and oppose extending the End of Prescribed Life (EoPL) beyond 20 years to avoid stranded assets and prolonged emissions.

• The Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) have already influenced provincial energy strategies, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick explicitly referencing alignment with the 2035 target.
• The authors argue that carbon pricing alone is insufficient to achieve Canada's net-zero targets, necessitating a planned trajectory for electricity sector decarbonization to de-risk investments in non-emitting generation.
• To prevent 'gas lock-in' and stranded assets, the CER should discourage new investment in unabated fossil gas facilities and avoid design options that incentivize natural gas as a long-term baseload resource.
• The authors propose a specific performance standard for the CER of no more than 60 tonnes of CO2 per GWh, which aligns with a 90% capture rate for a high-efficiency combined cycle fossil gas plant.
• The End of Prescribed Life (EoPL) should not exceed 20 years, as increases to this limit can disproportionately increase emissions and the risk of stranded assets.

APA

Pivnick, E., Dion, J., & Kyriazis, J. (2023). Clean Electricity Regulations - Public Update. Canadian Climate Institute. https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Submission-Clean-Electricity-Regulations-Public-Update.pdf

Chicago

Pivnick, Evan, Jason Dion, and Joanna Kyriazis. Clean Electricity Regulations - Public Update. Canadian Climate Institute, 2023. https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Submission-Clean-Electricity-Regulations-Public-Update.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Pivnick |first1=Evan |last2=Dion |first2=Jason |last3=Kyriazis |first3=Joanna |title=Clean Electricity Regulations - Public Update |publisher=Canadian Climate Institute |date=15 March 2023 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Submission-Clean-Electricity-Regulations-Public-Update.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{pivnick2023clean, author = {Pivnick, Evan and Dion, Jason and Kyriazis, Joanna}, title = {{Clean Electricity Regulations - Public Update}}, publisher = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Submission-Clean-Electricity-Regulations-Public-Update.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }