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Guilbeault says no exceptions for net-zero grid; Alberta counterpart calls remarks ‘infuriating’

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While Alberta demands a longer timeline to meet the clean-electricity rules coming from Ottawa, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said there will be no exceptions for provinces to attain a net-zero power grid by 2035.

 

The comments come a day after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith termed the draft Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) “disastrously uninformed and totally disconnected from reality,” maintaining they could lead to blackouts in a province that relies on natural gas to keep the lights on.

 

The UCP government has initiated a $8-million national advertising campaign opposing the federal plan, which would require electricity grids across the country to be net-zero within a dozen years, instead of Alberta’s push for 2050.

 

“I would call on Premier Smith to work with us constructively to ensure that these regulations are the most efficient for all Canadians,” Guilbeault told reporters on Friday.

“But there will be no carve-out for a province. How fair would it be for the rest of the federation if we started carving out exceptions for provinces?”

 

Alberta wants to see the federal timeline shifted to 2050, giving utilities more time to invest in technology to decarbonize while ensuring there’s enough gas-fired electricity generation to back up the growing amount of intermittent renewable power in the province.

 

The proposed regulations were unveiled last month and are open for comment until early November. They do not entirely stop the use of gas in power generation after 2035, but would sharply limit its use if a facility isn’t tied to carbon capture and storage.

 

Guilbeault said the draft rules already contain flexibility mechanisms for utilities to reach the federal goal.

 

“These regulations will not prevent the use of natural gas for electricity production. This is not a ‘no fossil fuel regulations’ for 2035 … but our goal is to minimize the emissions from electricity produced through gas,” he said.

 

“That’s what fighting climate change looks like — limiting the amount of fossil fuels we’re using.”

 

Rebecca Schulz
Alberta Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz speaks in Calgary on Thursday, Sept. 28. Jim Wells/Postmedia

 

Schulz said the comments from her federal counterpart are “infuriating, especially given we are at the table in good faith” through a joint federal-provincial working group.

 

“We are not asking for a special carve-out. We are not asking for special treatment,” she said.

 

“What we are asking for is the ability to deliver on our area of provincial jurisdiction, which is to provide affordable and reliable power to Albertans. We’re not the only province in this position right now.”

 

The latest exchange comes with both sides disparaging the other over energy and climate policies, including the electricity regulations and incoming oilpatch emissions limit.

 

On Thursday, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) took the unusual step of criticizing the federal plan, saying it wasn’t feasible for the province to meet the national electricity target.

 

AESO officials believe it could lead to inadequate power supply after 2035 and potentially trigger blackouts. Wholesale electricity costs in the province’s deregulated system would be $118 billion higher than extending the transition until 2050, according to its analysis.

The decarbonization task for Alberta is significant, as 72 per cent of electricity last year came from gas-fired generation and another 12 per cent from coal. Alberta has the highest provincial emissions in the country.

 

With the phase-out of coal-fired electricity generation completed next year, Alberta will need natural gas to provide baseload power in the province, said AESO chief executive Michael Law.

 

“The CER does not recognize the provinces are at different starting points,” Law said.

 

“Alberta is at a huge disadvantage and faces a much greater challenge to decarbonize its power system than most other provinces.”

 

Danielle Smith
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks in Calgary on Thursday, Sept. 28. Jim Wells/Postmedia

 

Jason Wang of the Pembina Institute called upon the AESO, which manages the provincial electricity system, to release the full analysis that supports its claims, and noted his group’s own research found multiple ways for Alberta’s power system to reach net-zero emissions by 2035.

 

“What the province has been asking for — for flexibility for gas to still be available — these are things that the clean electricity regulations actually offer,” he said Thursday.

 

With the phasing out of coal, emissions from the province’s electricity sector have dropped more than 44 per cent to 27.7 megatonnes since 2005.

 

The AESO believes carbon capture, energy storage, hydrogen and small modular reactors are promising technologies for the provincial system, but firm infrastructure to underpin the grid is still needed.

 

“The piece about no flexibility is worrisome to me because that is exactly what we’re looking for,” Schulz added.

 

“As provinces, we all have unique situations when it comes to our grid.”

 

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:T)

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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