The Canadian Gas Association recently released a study “Impacts of Policy Driven Electrification in Canada“. Prepared by ICF, the study assesses four scenarios that quantify what effects, requirements and costs electrification of roughly 40 to 50 per cent more of Energy use would impose on generation capacity, electricity infrastructure, peak demand supply capability, emission reductions, and energy affordability.
Key Takeaways:
- Electrification will require a massive build out of new infrastructure.
- A tripling of generation capacity would be required to meet peak demands.
- The infrastructure required will be enormously expensive.
- National energy costs could increase by between $580 billion and $1.4 trillion over the 30 year period between 2020 and 2050.
- The expense for the average Canadian household will be significant
- The cost is equivalent to increasing average Canadian household spending by $1,300 to $3,200 per year.
- Environmental policy goals can be pursued at significantly lower cost through a multi-grid approach that integrates natural gas solutions with the electric system rather than an electric-only option.
- GHG reduction policies that entirely favour electricity over multi-grid approaches are significantly more costly (at $289 /tCO2 for electric alone vs $129 /tCO2 for integrated systems)
The goal of this report is to help better inform the public discourse on options for Canada’s energy future. What is clear from the research is that the cost to electrify additional parts of the Canadian economy will come at tremendous cost. More importantly, pathways that leverage both natural gas and electricity systems can deliver important emission reductions much more affordably.
As we move forward, the Canadian natural gas delivery industry is committed to advancing cost effective solutions that will help Canada meet its environmental objectives, while remaining economically competitive.
Read the full report here.
