Cold last to nights, winter wheat down to Kansas effected!

[grassfarmer]

If only it were so simple kato. Truth is the $3billion
figure is bogus - it will be way more than that. This
is not really about an Edmonton-Calgary power line
its about lines built for export.
What the plan really involves is using taxpayer
money to build power lines which will be given to
for profit corporations and on top of that the
Government has guaranteed them a 9% annual
return on the investment which they didn't make
(the taxpayer paid).
Imagine that in farm terms - the Government buys a
farm, sets up the buildings and facilities and gifts it
to a farmer and also guarantees them an annual
return of 9% on the capital value of the assets. You
can bet the next generation would all want to farm
with a deal like that in place!
And you think Manitoba is a crazy place to live? Here
it looks like the lunatics are running the asylum.

[BTO_farmall]

JumpinJackFlash, it's a gas! Gas! GAS! I would not be concerned one bit. Christ my Winter Wheat already half made, Few Timely Rains, & We's got another one fer The Record Books. Can't wait to hear that first sounda The Drill Fan this Spring...........

[kato]

Wow.

Here there is no hiding the fact that our line is being built primarily for exporting power. There are markets in the U.S. lined up to accept it now. The money from the exports is put back into Manitoba Hydro, and keeps our rates lower, as you can see. I guess the main difference is who gets the profits.

Interesting how attitudes are different just two provinces apart. That old "Ten Little Countries" theory of mine at work again. Hydro is one little bit of the theory that actually seems to work to a Manitoba advantage, which is nice to see for a change.

[rhoff]

remember a while ago when we had the week of -30? well our soil was still around -6 after that so Im still optimistic the stuff will grow.

[Kathy]

A word of caution regarding exporting power to the bankrupt USA. At a meeting in Trochu last year, a gentleman from the crowd informed people that the province of British Columbia has not been paid for selling electricity to the state of California, for over 5 years worth of exports.... how can that be profitable? The point being the USA is going to TAKE TAKE TAKE - and there is no guarantee, or much hope, of us getting paid for the power we export here in Canada. The Transnational corporations like TransAlta, will simply keep the money they make from exports somewhere else in the world, where they are exploiting the citizens.

[Kathy]

Here is an AESO response to Joe Anglin's letter re: electricity pricing/stacking which was also printed in the East Central Review.

The response entitled "Inaccurate Information" was written by Margaret Keating Erickson of AESO "Director Market Design". (NB - can anybody tell me where she actually points out an ERROR in Joe Anglin's comments?). Ms. Keating-Erickson is not returning our call. I'll post my comments after I hear from some of you.

link: http://www.ecareview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2426: inaccurate-information&catid=6:article&Itemid=2

"Inaccurate Information

Friday, 24 February 2012 18:45
As the organization responsible for managing Alberta’s electricity grid on a 24/7 basis to ensure reliable power is available to meet the needs of all Albertans, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) wishes to correct inaccurate information included in a Letter to the Editor that ran in a recent issue of your publication about the structure of Alberta’s wholesale electricity market. Alberta’s wholesale electricity market design is based on the premise of an uncongested transmission system that enables all generators to compete to offer their supply to the grid. This competition benefits Albertans by ensuring they pay the lowest price possible for electricity.

While the transmission of electricity is regulated, the generation component is deregulated and decisions to build and operate generation facilities are made by independent, shareholder-held companies. These companies bear the risk and reward of those investments. Wholesale electricity prices are determined hourly by the lowest price that delivers enough supply to meet the total demand for that hour. This hourly price is called the pool price, and this market structure is called a clearing price model. Generators of electricity offer their power into the AESO-operated market at their own chosen price from $0 up to a ceiling of $999.99 per megawatt hour (MWh). These offers are sorted from the lowest to highest price for each hour of every day into a list called a merit order. The retail price for electricity paid by consumers in Alberta is based on the average pool price expected for the month ahead.
The AESO’s system controllers use the merit order to balance electricity supply and demand, dispatching the lowest-priced supply offers and moving up to the highest priced offers until all electricity required for that hour is supplied.

Approximately 6,000 – 7,000 MW of the 13,866 MW of generation available on Alberta’s electric system offers in at $0. In a clearing price model, contrary to the assertions of Mr. Anglin, this does not mean that those generators want to give their energy away for free.

There are costs to producing the energy (capital for construction and maintenance, salaries, fuel costs, etc.); and generators need to see a return on that investment. What it does mean is that they are willing to be price takers: it is important to them, for a variety of reasons, to produce that energy in that hour and they are willing to accept whatever price the market sets.

This includes taking the risk that on very rare occasions, the hourly price may actually settle at $0, and then that is what they get paid for their production in that hour. This was in fact the case six times in 2011. The wholesale price of electricity, like other commodities, is driven by supply and demand and varies depending on time of day, time of year and other factors. Supply availability can be affected by planned or forced generation outages, transmission constraints and how much energy we are able to import across our interties.
Congestion on the transmission system can impact the wholesale market price by impeding a generator’s access to the market, resulting in higher priced generation dispatched to the grid.
According to a study commissioned by the Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta, the Independent Power Consumers Association of Alberta and the Utilities Consumer Advocate in 2011, London Economics International benchmarked Alberta’s electricity prices for the next five years against other Canadian provinces and concluded that, when compared fairly, Alberta’s all-in delivered energy prices are competitive across Canada for both residential and industrial consumers.
Openly competitive generation allows Albertans access to competitively priced power. Our existing wholesale market structure supports economic development in Alberta and provides a reliable price signal for producers, consumers and investors, aiding private companies in making investment decisions that ensure an adequate supply of electricity for many years to come. In the 10 years since the restructuring of the industry, this point has been well-proven with 6400 MW of new generation added to the grid.
Please go to www.poweringalberta.com to learn more.
Sincerely,
Miranda Keating Erickson
Director, Market Design "

[Kathy]

Joe Anglin's response to Ms. Miranda Keating-Erickson:

Where is our FREE electricity?

In a letter to the editor, Miranda Keating-Erickson, the Alberta Electric System Operator’s (AESO) Director of Market Design described Alberta’s wholesale electricity market and wrote, “Generators compete to offer their supply to the grid. This competition benefits Albertans by ensuring they pay the lowest price possible for electricity.”

On the website www.ctrc-ab.ca Albertans can actually listen to an audio recording of the AESO executives describe the wholesale electricity market, as “elegant”. The remarks, and description of the market are located in the audio version of AESO’s overview testimony; they can be found at the 1:30:49 mark on the time scale.

According to Ms. Keating-Erickson’s letter to the editor, electricity generators don’t want to give their electricity away for free. They are just willing to accept nothing in return, for giving their electricity away. Think about this for a minute! If the electricity generators are willing to accept nothing, why don’t we just offer $0 a megawatt to all the generators and we can all go home happy? The fact is the wholesale electricity market is biased and favours the generators. All the generat

[Kathy]

Joe Anglin's response to Ms. Miranda Keating-Erickson:

Where is our FREE electricity?

In a letter to the editor, Miranda Keating-Erickson, the Alberta Electric System Operator’s (AESO) Director of Market Design described Alberta’s wholesale electricity market and wrote, “Generators compete to offer their supply to the grid. This competition benefits Albertans by ensuring they pay the lowest price possible for electricity.”

On the website www.ctrc-ab.ca Albertans can actually listen to an audio recording of the AESO executives describe the wholesale electricity market, as “elegant”. The remarks, and description of the market are located in the audio version of AESO’s overview testimony; they can be found at the 1:30:49 mark on the time scale.

According to Ms. Keating-Erickson’s letter to the editor, electricity generators don’t want to give their electricity away for free. They are just willing to accept nothing in return, for giving their electricity away. Think about this for a minute! If the electricity generators are willing to accept nothing, why don’t we just offer $0 a megawatt to all the generators and we can all go home happy? The fact is the wholesale electricity market is biased and favours the generators. All the generators are paid the highest price offered, even when many of them are willing to sell for much less. This is just one of the reasons why Albertans are getting gouged each month.

For example: If demand is constant and the AESO requires 10,000 MW to serve the demand for the next hour. Ten generators could offer to sell a combined 9,999 MW for $0 to the market. Another generator could offer to sell the last megawatt (MW) to the market for $500. In this example, the total cost of the 10,000 MW is $500 for the hour. Under AESO’s elegant pricing system, all the generators are paid $500 for each megawatt (MW). Instead of costing Albertans $500 for the hour, the AESO’s elegant pricing system ensures Albertans will be charged $5,000,000 for the hour. How does this pricing system ensure Albertan get access to the lowest price electricity?

Ms. Keating-Erickson states in her letter that at least six different times in 2011 the hourly price of electricity actually settled at $0 dollars a megawatt (MW). What Ms. Keating-Erickson failed to disclose in her letter is: Albertans don’t get free electricity. The AESO states on page #41 of its 2008 annual report (www.aeso.ca), “There have been periods when the pool price has settled at $0/MW. This situation requires system controllers to follow supply surplus procedures to clear the market.”

“Clear the market” is a technical term that means Albertans don’t get access to free electricity. Albertans don’t need an elegant pricing system. We need a system that allows Albertans to pay the exact price generators are willing to sell electricity.

Alberta is flush with cheap electricity. The problem with access to this electricity is not transmission lines. It is a systemically flawed and biased organization called the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). It’s time for a change!


Joe Anglin
Rimbey, AB
(403) 843-3279

[Kathy]

Joe Anglin's response to Ms. Miranda Keating-Erickson:

Where is our FREE electricity?

In a letter to the editor, Miranda Keating-Erickson, the Alberta Electric System Operator’s (AESO) Director of Market Design described Alberta’s wholesale electricity market and wrote, “Generators compete to offer their supply to the grid. This competition benefits Albertans by ensuring they pay the lowest price possible for electricity.”

On the website www.ctrc-ab.ca Albertans can actually listen to an audio recording of the AESO executives describe the wholesale electricity market, as “elegant”. The remarks, and description of the market are located in the audio version of AESO’s overview testimony; they can be found at the 1:30:49 mark on the time scale.

According to Ms. Keating-Erickson’s letter to the editor, electricity generators don’t want to give their electricity away for free. They are just willing to accept nothing in return, for giving their electricity away. Think about this for a minute! If the electricity generators are willing to accept nothing, why don’t we just offer $0 a megawatt to all the generators and we can all go home happy? The fact is the wholesale electricity market is biased and favours the generators. All the generat

[Kathy]

Joe Anglin's response to Ms. Miranda Keating-Erickson:

Where is our FREE electricity?

In a letter to the editor, Miranda Keating-Erickson, the Alberta Electric System Operator’s (AESO) Director of Market Design described Alberta’s wholesale electricity market and wrote, “Generators compete to offer their supply to the grid. This competition benefits Albertans by ensuring they pay the lowest price possible for electricity.”

On the website www.ctrc-ab.ca Albertans can actually listen to an audio recording of the AESO executives describe the wholesale electricity market, as “elegant”. The remarks, and description of the market are located in the audio version of AESO’s overview testimony; they can be found at the 1:30:49 mark on the time scale.

According to Ms. Keating-Erickson’s letter to the editor, electricity generators don’t want to give their electricity away for free. They are just willing to accept nothing in return, for giving their electricity away. Think about this for a minute! If the electricity generators are willing to accept nothing, why don’t we just offer $0 a megawatt to all the generators and we can all go home happy? The fact is the wholesale electricity market is biased and favours the generators. All the generators are paid the highest price offered, even when many of them are willing to sell for much less. This is just one of the reasons why Albertans are getting gouged each month.

For example: If demand is constant and the AESO requires 10,000 MW to serve the demand for the next hour. Ten generators could offer to sell a combined 9,999 MW for $0 to the market. Another generator could offer to sell the last megawatt (MW) to the market for $500. In this example, the total cost of the 10,000 MW is $500 for the hour. Under AESO’s elegant pricing system, all the generators are paid $500 for each megawatt (MW). Instead of costing Albertans $500 for the hour, the AESO’s elegant pricing system ensures Albertans will be charged $5,000,000 for the hour. How does this pricing system ensure Albertan get access to the lowest price electricity?

Ms. Keating-Erickson states in her letter that at least six different times in 2011 the hourly price of electricity actually settled at $0 dollars a megawatt (MW). What Ms. Keating-Erickson failed to disclose in her letter is: Albertans don’t get free electricity. The AESO states on page #41 of its 2008 annual report (www.aeso.ca), “There have been periods when the pool price has settled at $0/MW. This situation requires system controllers to follow supply surplus procedures to clear the market.”

“Clear the market” is a technical term that means Albertans don’t get access to free electricity. Albertans don’t need an elegant pricing system. We need a system that allows Albertans to pay the exact price generators are willing to sell electricity.

Alberta is flush with cheap electricity. The problem with access to this electricity is not transmission lines. It is a systemically flawed and biased organization called the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). It’s time for a change!


Joe Anglin
Rimbey, AB
(403) 843-3279

[Kathy]

try again:

Where is our FREE electricity?

In a letter to the editor, Miranda Keating-Erickson, the Alberta Electric System Operator’s (AESO) Director of Market Design described Alberta’s wholesale electricity market and wrote, “Generators compete to offer their supply to the grid. This competition benefits Albertans by ensuring they pay the lowest price possible for electricity.”

On the website www.ctrc-ab.ca Albertans can actually listen to an audio recording of the AESO executives describe the wholesale electricity market, as “elegant”. The remarks, and description of the market are located in the audio version of AESO’s overview testimony; they can be found at the 1:30:49 mark on the time scale.

According to Ms. Keating-Erickson’s letter to the editor, electricity generators don’t want to give their electricity away for free. They are just willing to accept nothing in return, for giving their electricity away. Think about this for a minute! If the electricity generators are willing to accept nothing, why don’t we just offer $0 a megawatt to all the generators and we can all go home happy? The fact is the wholesale electricity market is biased and favours the generators. All the generators are paid the highest price offered, even when many of them are willing to sell for much less. This is just one of the reasons why Albertans are getting gouged each month.

For example: If demand is constant and the AESO requires 10,000 MW to serve the demand for the next hour. Ten generators could offer to sell a combined 9,999 MW for $0 to the market. Another generator could offer to sell the last megawatt (MW) to the market for $500. In this example, the total cost of the 10,000 MW is $500 for the hour. Under AESO’s elegant pricing system, all the generators are paid $500 for each megawatt (MW). Instead of costing Albertans $500 for the hour, the AESO’s elegant pricing system ensures Albertans will be charged $5,000,000 for the hour. How does this pricing system ensure Albertan get access to the lowest price electricity?

Ms. Keating-Erickson states in her letter that at least six different times in 2011 the hourly price of electricity actually settled at $0 dollars a megawatt (MW). What Ms. Keating-Erickson failed to disclose in her letter is: Albertans don’t get free electricity. The AESO states on page #41 of its 2008 annual report (www.aeso.ca), “There have been periods when the pool price has settled at $0/MW. This situation requires system controllers to follow supply surplus procedures to clear the market.”

“Clear the market” is a technical term that means Albertans don’t get access to free electricity. Albertans don’t need an elegant pricing system. We need a system that allows Albertans to pay the exact price generators are willing to sell electricity.

Alberta is flush with cheap electricity. The problem with access to this electricity is not transmission lines. It is a systemically flawed and biased organization called the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). It’s time for a change!

Joe Anglin
Rimbey, AB
(403) 843-3279