Danielle Smith warned about 'net-zero' 2035. Alberta power grid's woes showed up early

In white text on black boards, messages that were both visually and rhetorically stark flanked Premier Danielle Smith last fall as she launched a big advertising campaign against Ottawa's clean electricity regulations.

"No one wants blackouts in –30°C."

"No one wants to freeze in the dark."

Both statements are universal truths, no doubt.

Last weekend, these sentiments were widely felt across Alberta as phones flashed with the emergency grid alert and Alberta Emergency Management Agency's plea to switch off lights and unplug appliances.

Smith's government had intended their grim black-and-white messages to be warnings about a theoretical 2035 under new federal rules, but here was the spectre of rolling blackouts, 11 years sooner. No one wanted to, but Albertans were perilously close to freezing in the dark.

Now, this may solidify the fear of more common grid alerts under Ottawa's "net zero" system, which restricts the use of natural-gas power. Cabinet ministers played up the fact wind and solar power didn't come through in last weekend's deep freeze, and when Smith returns from vacation next week she might take some more whacks at that UCP whipping post.

But this could also focus Alberta minds on getting not just next decade's electrical system rules in sensible, reliable shape, but also the system right here, right now. This alert had near nothing to do with Ottawa — it was a panicked call coming from inside the house.

Inflammatory rhetoric on either the pro or con side of net zero can fuel headlines and stoke political bases, but it won't power Alberta's energy-hungry homes and cities, now or in the future.

Keeping the lights on — and electric vehicles charged — will pose challenges in this province and in many other places. Every potential fix will come with its own suite of hurdles and problems, but it's the sort of situation where nearly every potential fix may be necessary.

Reliability is an issue during weather extremes already, while the federal clean electricity rules are in draft mode.

The province had already begun work on a potential redesign of its regulated private market system when the cold snap rattled its grid more than similarly shivering Saskatchewan and British Columbia, which could both export some extra juice to Alberta. 

"We are working on reviewing the entire system to make sure that in the future … that this won't happen again," Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf said this week.

He noted that the direct risk of this happening will be greatly diminished later this year when several massive gas plants come online, largely to replace the soon-to-be-eliminated (and much dirtier) coal-powered generators.