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Capital Power (OTCPK:CPXWF) said it does not expect to build new natural gas-fired power plants in Canada, as Prime Minister Trudeau’s proposed clean electricity regulations to fight climate change make new investments unviable, CEO Avik Dey told Reuters Wednesday.
The concerns raised by Alberta’s second biggest power generator are shared by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who said this week the province would defy Trudeau’s proposed electricity regulations.
The clean energy regulations in their current form do not justify investment in a new gas-fired plant meant to operate 30 years, the CEO said.
Smith has warned the regulations would lead to grid brownouts and blackouts, and Dey voiced similar concerns.
Delaying Canada’s federal net-zero goal by a decade to 2045, along with changes to the prescribed end of life for plants, restrictions on peak-use plants, and use of offsets could make a net-zero grid realistic and change Capital Power’s (OTCPK:CPXWF) position, Dey said, but “if those aren’t changed, CER does not work for a place like Alberta.”