Near-power shutdown in Alberta is a clear warning about the folly of Net Zero by 2035 electrical grid policies
By Leo Dupire, Proud to be Canadian, Jan. 18, 2024
Have you heard what happened in Alberta last weekend? On Saturday, faced with -40 degree temperatures, some key generators going offline, and record high usage during the bone-cold chill, the province hit a temporary electricity crunch: not enough supply to meet peak demand.
The electricity operator even had to send out an emergency text alert, asking everyone to conserve power. Fortunately, the people listened, and electric usage dropped by 200 megawatts within two minutes.
The good news is that they have 1,800 megawatts of new, reliable natural gas power generation coming online in the next few months, so this emergency probably won’t happen again—for awhile.
It sounds insane, I know, but it’s true. The Liberal government is demanding that Canada’s entire power grid be “net zero” by 2035. With few exceptions, that means no natural gas, no coal, no oil—no nothing.
Net Zero is a recipe for power shutdowns
Nationwide, almost 20% of Canada’s electricity comes from those sources of energy, called hydrocarbons. Imagine how much many more power crises we’ll have on cold winter nights, all across the country, if Trudeau gets his way and shuts all that generation down.
His “plan” is to rapidly replace reliable hydrocarbon power with… wind and solar. I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking forward to relying on flaky, unreliable sources of energy on a -40 winter night.
(Did you know that wind turbines can’t run when it’s colder than -30°C? And solar panels obviously don’t provide much power when it’s dark….)
But wait, it gets worse! Because at the same time Trudeau is trying to shut down reliable sources of electricity, he’s forcing more and more of your life to rely on that grid:
- The federal government wants to ban sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035, so that all vehicles will have to be electric—and plugged into the power grid.
- And the Liberals are also trying to ban oil-and gas-powered furnaces, which 60% of Canadians currently rely on to heat their homes, and make everyone use electric heating instead.
What do you think is going to happen when Canada’s electrical grid is forced to start carrying the burden of moving all our cars and trucks and heating all our homes and businesses, at the same time as all our natural gas power plants are being shut down? I’ll tell you what will happen: brownouts, power failures, and Canadians freezing in the dark.
Economics-savvy politicians need to speak out
Less supply and more demand is a recipe for disaster. (Remember the good old days, when Canada had a Prime Minister who understood economics?) Fortunately, there are smarter politicians who are speaking out against this nonsense, like Premier Scott Moe in Saskatchewan and Danielle Smith in Alberta.
At Proud to Be Canadian, we will support politicians of any stripe when they’re pro-energy and put the good of Canadians ahead of an extreme environmentalist agenda. Canada needs a reliable electricity grid, and Canadians deserve efficient, cost-effective ways to travel and heat our homes.
But to stop this impending disaster, more people need to hear about the dangers of Justin Trudeau’s plan to leave Canadians out in the cold. Proud to Be Canadian depends on the support of Canadians like you. Can you chip in a contribution of $9 or even $24 to help us keep the lights on, too?