Welcome to Balancing Pool
In the restructured electricity industry in Alberta, the Balancing Pool plays a prominent role in managing the Power Purchase Arrangements of several major power plants. The Balancing Pool was established in 1999 by the Government of Alberta to help manage certain assets, revenues and expenses arising from the transition to competition in Alberta’s electric industry. In 2008, the Balancing Pool had revenues of some $716 million and managed more than $2.1 billion in assets.
The Balancing Pool has two primary roles:
- to manage the financial accounts arising from the transition to a competitive generation market on behalf of electricity consumers;
- and to meet any obligations and responsibilities associated with both sold and unsold Power Purchase Arrangements (PPAs).
Consumer Allocation
Under provisions of the Electric Utilities Act, each year the Balancing Pool is required to forecast its revenues and expenses to determine any excess or shortfall of funds. In 2010 Alberta electricity consumers will be receiving a $4.00 per Megawatt of consumption rebate on their power bills.
Power Purchase Arrangements (PPAs)
PPAs are one of the mechanisms used by the Government of Alberta to introduce competition into the supply of thermal electric power from generating units built during regulation (before 1995). The PPAs were auctioned in 2000 and provided successful buyers with the rights to formerly regulated generating capacity.
Decommission
Balancing Pool is responsible for all the costs associated with the remediation and reclamation of ATCO Electric Isolated Generation sites. In 2002, 77 remote northern Alberta sites were identified as being contaminated with diesel fuel with 72 of the sites being deemed complete in 2008. The remaining five sites are large and complex with completion expected by 2012.
We are also responsible for the decommissioning cost of any legacy generating units that are currently under PPAs which retire before 2018 where the total cost to remediate exceeds the decommission funds collected by the owner in prior years. This includes HR Milner, Battle River Units 3 and 4 and Sundance Units 1 and 2. Owners of these assets have 1 year after the expiration of the PPAs to decide if they want to retire these assets and seek any possible funding from the Balancing Pool. Owners who operate these assets past the 1 year limit waive their rights to this funding.