Canadian Electricity Markets during the Covid-19 Pandemic

An Initial Assessment

Bibliographic Data

ID11968706
AuthorsAndrew Leach (0000-0003-0600-2333, University of Alberta, corresponding author), Nic Rivers (University of Ottawa), Blake Shaffer (0000-0001-6685-8075, University of Calgary)
Year2020
Volume46
IssueS2
PagesS145-S159
Publication date2020-07-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Public Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0317-0861 • E-ISSN: 1911-9917
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/cpp.2020-060
PMID38629996
OpenAlexW3038359905
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited7

This article examines the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on electricity markets across select Canadian provinces, using available data. Using high-frequency electricity data, we find electricity demand declined by roughly 10 percent in Ontario and by about 5 percent in Alberta, British Columbia, and New Brunswick. On the supply side, in Alberta we find reductions from some natural gas plants and an increase in net generation from the oil sands region, whereas Ontario sees an increase in net electricity exports. Policy implications include potential rate impacts as a result of fixed charges spread over a smaller rate base, the potential use of electricity data as a real-time economic indicator during the pandemic, and a call to arms to make electricity data across all Canadian provinces more readily available

Agricultural economics · Business · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Economics · Electricity · Electricity demand · Electricity generation · Electricity market · Electricity retailing · Mains electricity · Natural resource economics · Pandemic · Power (physics · COVID-19 impact on air quality · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · Energy and Environment Impacts · Engineering

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