Deregulation in Alberta

William O. (Bill) Kennedy, P.Eng., FEIC

Place: The Dineen Lecture Theatre, Room HC13, Head Hall
       15 Dineen Drive
       University of New Brunswick
       Fredericton, NB

Abstract: On January 1, 1995 Alberta became the first jurisdiction in Canada to deregulate its electricity business. Deregulation in Alberta continues to evolve. This talk traces deregulation in Alberta from that beginning to the present day and gives an overview of internal and external drivers that are influencing the deregulated electric business in Alberta today. No major transmission has been built in Alberta since 1985. How Alberta has addressed and is addressing that issue is also discussed.

About the speaker:

W.O. (Bill) Kennedy, P.Eng., FEIC assumed the presidency of IEEE Canada on January 1, 2004 for a two year period. He will sit on the IEEE Board of Directors as the Region 7 Director. A Senior Member of IEEE, he has been an active IEEE member for over 30 years and is a member of the Power Engineering and Industrial Applications Societies. He is also active on the Power System Relaying Committee.

As president IEEE Canada he will also sit on the Engineering Institute of Canada board as President, Canadian Society of Electrical and Computer Engineers.

Bill Kennedy is Principal Engineer with the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). He has been associated with the deregulated electric industry in Alberta since 1997.

He has broad experience in electric power systems for both utility and industrial power systems, and is the author of a dozen papers on power system protection. He is a member of the Western Protective Relay Conference papers committee.

A 1969 graduate of the University of New Brunswick in Electrical Engineering, Mr. Kennedy is a registered professional engineer in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In 1998, he was elected a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada.