Enabling Our Modern Way of Life - Power

The power industry has been central to the growth of our modern, electrified world. Access to reliable and affordable electricity has been vital to the growth of our societies and economies.

In Western Canada, electric power generation started with hydroelectric dams built in the early 1900s. Some of these are still in operation today. In the hydro resource rich region of British Columbia, this has remained the dominant source of electricity. However, in Alberta and Saskatchewan, coal became the leader in baseload generation due to the ample local supply and the emergence of steam turbine technology in the 1950s and 1960s.

With the development of the vast natural gas resources in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, gas-fired combustion turbines started entering our electric power generation mix. Some of the first installs were in Medicine Hat, Alberta, also known as the Gas City. Such natural gas fired power plants are being used for cogeneration of electricity and steam across various industrial facilities including oilsands, potash mines, petrochemical plants as well as hospitals and arenas.

Today, much of our baseload coal-fired power is being retired or getting converted to burning natural gas to reduce the carbon footprint. Considerable technological advancements in zero emission sources, like wind and solar, have made them a significant part of our electric power generation mix.