Staff at Alberta鈥檚 independent grid operator were concerned the provincial government wanted them to 鈥渓ie鈥� about the organization鈥檚 role in the decision to pause all new renewable energy projects last summer, according to internal correspondence obtained by The Narwhal. They refused.
The internal messages, obtained through a freedom of information request, were sent nearly two weeks after the government announced its seven-month moratorium last August and was facing , as well as backlash from industry, the and environmental groups over the decision.
As the controversy built, a senior staffer with the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) noted the minister鈥檚 office had requested the organization help 鈥渂eef up鈥� the province鈥檚 communications strategy to say the decision to impose a moratorium was made after multiple meetings 鈥� a request that would bring them in line with government talking points. The same staffer said the request had also been made to the Alberta Utilities Commission, which regulates .
鈥淭heir position, as is ours, is we will not lie,鈥� they wrote.
Those chats, sent via Microsoft Teams, followed weeks of pressure leading up to the announcement for the grid operator to support the government鈥檚 decision, including a request to sign a letter supporting the move, as was from The Narwhal.
When the government announced the moratorium on new renewable energy projects, it released two letters to justify the decision: one and . The government claimed the letters asked for a pause, but they did not.
Lisa Young, a political scientist at the University of Calgary who reviewed the documents obtained by The Narwhal, says the staff statement about refusing to 鈥渓ie鈥� is significant.
鈥淚t jumped off the page at me, that there was the need to draw that line explicitly that the [Alberta Electric System Operator] would basically do as the government had asked in terms of the letter, but that it would not lie about what had happened,鈥� she says.
鈥淧eople in positions like that wouldn鈥檛 feel the need to say we are not going to lie, unless they perceived pressure in that direction.鈥�
Government repeatedly claimed it had many meetings with AESO about Alberta renewables pause
The provincial government has its decision to stop all new renewable energy projects for seven months was done following 鈥渕ultiple briefings and conversations鈥� with both the regulator and grid operator, despite not being able to provide evidence of those multiple meetings.
When Nathan Neudorf, the minister of affordability and utilities, first met with the board chairs of the grid operator and the regulator weeks after being sworn in, he informed them of his on new renewable projects, as previously reported by The Narwhal.
That reporting also showed the grid operator was and warned of consequences to the market and the grid if it was introduced. The CEO of the operator, who has since left the organization, was told by the government-appointed board chair to 鈥渟upport the minister without reservation.鈥�
Neudorf鈥檚 office did not respond to requests for comment from The Narwhal. The Alberta Electric System Operator and the Alberta Utilities Commission both declined to comment.
In June, Neudorf attended the Canadian Renewable Energy Association鈥檚 electricity storage conference in Calgary and was asked by The Narwhal whether he stood by previous assertions the moratorium was the result of multiple meetings with the grid operator and the regulator. He did not answer the question directly.
鈥淩ight from day one, I鈥檝e had multiple meetings with the [Alberta Utilities Commission, the [Alberta Electric System Operator] and their board and the [Market Surveillance Administrator],鈥� he said.
The Market Surveillance Administrator polices Alberta鈥檚 free market to ensure generators are following the rules.
When asked by reporters to clarify, Neudorf said meetings with those bodies started immediately after he was sworn in, but would only say he talked to those agencies before the pause was implemented and did not specify what they were talking about or how often they met.
Young says these sorts of lingering questions can have an impact.
鈥淭hey set up arms-length agencies in order to give those agencies the credibility that comes with expertise and independence,鈥� Young says.
鈥淎nd so if it becomes a regular thing to demand that those agencies comply with government comms requirements, then it defeats the purpose of having them and erodes their credibility.鈥�
鈥楾hat is not correct鈥�: head of AESO, responding to government rationale floated for Alberta renewables pause
The internal discussions obtained by The Narwhal show it wasn鈥檛 just messaging around how the decision was made that staff had to push back on.
On July 17, 2023, shortly after the government informed the grid operator that it intended to implement the moratorium, Mike Law, the former CEO, wrote in an internal chat to his colleagues that he told Tim Grant, the deputy minister of affordability and utilities, his organization could 鈥渟upport a pause to ensure industry has clarity before advancing projects and expending capital.鈥� But Law also said the grid operator could not say 鈥渋t was due to reliability or integration issues as that is not correct and likely to bite us later on.鈥�
Staff at the grid operator also said the government seemed concerned there could be legal ramifications for the moratorium.
鈥淭he key message is that the pause was implemented to draw a line in the sand and signal that there will be some changes going forward after March 1; the intent is NOT to cause economic harm, this was repeated several times by the minister,鈥� wrote one staffer following a meeting with the government, days after the moratorium was announced.
鈥淚t appears they are trying to mitigate potential litigation risk,鈥� they said later in the same message to senior staff.
Law, in previous documents obtained by The Narwhal, worried the moratorium could put the industry 鈥渋nto a tailspin鈥� and dry up much-needed investment in the grid.
Since the moratorium was put in place, new renewable energy project applications have hit 鈥渁 standstill鈥� and 53 projects have been cancelled, .
The impact, however, won鈥檛 be felt immediately.
鈥淭aking into account project development and construction timelines, most of the moratorium鈥檚 impacts on the sector鈥檚 growth will be seen in 2025, when fewer renewable energy projects are built,鈥� the report reads.
This story was originally published in The Narwhal, a non-profit online magazine that produces in-depth journalism about the natural world in Canada. Sign up for weekly updates at
Drew Anderson, The Canadian Press
