Current Affairs

Electricity Canada celebrates advocacy win with Bill C-8

On Thursday, March 12th the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU) has adopted the regulatory alignment amendments to Bill C-8 that Electricity Canada has been advocating for nearly four years. Current Affairs sits down with Eric Jacques, Manager, Security and Infrastructure Protection who has been leading this file, to learn more.

Hi Eric, thanks for joining us. What is Bill C-8 and what were Electricity Canada's concerns with it?

Bill C-8 is a federal piece of legislation on cybersecurity. It was introduced way back in the summer of 2022 and reintroduced last year after the last federal election. The overarching goal of Bill C8 is to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure under federal jurisdiction. For the electricity sector, that means nuclear power plants and interprovincial and international power lines. It aims to strengthen the cybersecurity of those infrastructures by mandating operators to implement cybersecurity programmes, report cybersecurity incidents, and also follow government directives.

Our main concern was around the risk of regulatory duplication. Our sector is already regulated by North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) standards, which requires operators to protect against cyberthreats and identify critical assets. With Bill C-8, we saw a risk of adding another layer of compliance and duplication between regulatory regimes without necessarily adding an extra layer of security. Through C-8 our members would have had to comply with another set of cybersecurity requirements through another compliance mechanism. That adds a lot of paperwork… and not much security. In the province of Ontario, the new cybersecurity legislation requires all electric utilities in Ontario to report cybersecurity incidents, so in that province you’d be adding a third level of cybersecurity requirements.

Talk us through the process of getting the Bill amended.

Well, in one sentence, it's a lot of meetings with a lot of people.

First, we had to identify what our concerns were and what our recommendations were. So, the process started with getting our members together. When the Bill was introduced, we formed a cross-business task group. We had members with different expertise that were working in cybersecurity , compliance , and law that participated and formed a task group to identify some of our key concerns with Bill C-26 at the time. We ended up with a list of our concerns and recommendations and once we had that in our hands, we started our engagement with government partners. We met with dozens of different stakeholders throughout the last four years to get this to the finish line. For Bill C-26, Electricity Canada participated in the House of Commons review of the Bill and the Senate committee review of the Bill. It was really an opportunity for us to get in front of parliamentarians, clearly lay out our concerns and recommendations. When the Bill was reintroduced at C-8 we participated in the same process.

As I mentioned off the top, one of our main concerns was the risk of regulatory duplications. We were able to have language changed in Bill C-8 that encourages the government to look at what already exists when developing new regulations and to, as much as possible, align with those existing regulatory regimes and frameworks. It sets us up very well for the regulatory development process that will follow the passage of the bill. This is where Electricity Canada will continue to work closely with our federal government partners and ensure that the government follows the spirits of those amendments when it drafts new regulations.

Who did you have to consult to get the end result?

We try to talk to everybody, for example Public Safety Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Cyber Centre, the RCMP, the Canadian Energy Regulator, ministerial staff, political staff, as well as departmental officials. We spoke to Parliamentarians, including Members of Parliament, Senators, both from the governing party and opposition parties. We really talked to everyone to express our concerns so, when we would makes our asks at committee, those concerns and recommendations were already well understood.

You’ve been working on this project for four years, what were the lessons learned? 

Persistence for sure! I think one of the things I've learned through our government relations work and working in advocacy is that it's very rare to have such things as quick wins, and so you really have to be persistent in communicating your message and being clear on it. Along with persistence, you must recognise that work that you do now can pay off years later. So, there's not necessarily an immediate payoff, but through time, as we've seen with C-8, we were very clear on our message for close to four years, and so years later, what we were trying to say was already well understood, and that contributed to our success.

For a second lesson learned, I think you need your champions. For us, we were very fortunate to have a Member of Parliament that understood our concerns, really believed in them, and was willing to work with us to improve this legislation. You really need your champions and need to do what you can to support them as well as they're trying to improve these legislations. In this case, we benefitted from this being a minority Parliament and where opposition parties had the deciding votes at committee, and we worked closely with Madame Claude DeBellefeuille from the Bloc Québécois, who really understood and our concerns and championed those amendments.

Read Electricity Canada’s full submission on our website.

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Modernization in metering

On February 5th, Electricity Canada appeared before the Standing Committee of Banking, Commerce and the Economy at the Senate to provide recommendations to strengthen Bill S-3, which modernizes the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act (EGIA). For the past decade, Electricity Canada’s Distribution Council and Metering Technology and Policy Committee have been working to update the act, so it keeps up with new metering technologies.

Current Affairs sits down with Shelley Levoy, Director of Distribution and special guest Cameron Chan, Supervising Engineer, QA & Metering Standards Revenue Metering at ENMAX to discuss the issue and how it affects the electricity sector.

Hi Shelley, thanks for joining us! To break it down for our readers, what is a meter and how do they work?

At its simplest, a meter measures electricity consumption for billing purposes. For decades, you would have recognized it as the box on the side of your house. What started as mechanical components like the inside of an old watch has evolved to software that still measures electricity but also does a whole host of other things. Today, the measurement function might be built into a smart charging station, part of a commercial energy system, or embedded within more advanced infrastructure. It’s not always a standalone device you can point to.

The measurement is still there. It’s still regulated. But it may live inside equipment that looks very different from the traditional meter people are used to.

What is the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act and why does it matter to the electricity sector?

The Electricity and Gas Inspection Act is the federal law that ensures when a customer receives a bill for electricity, the measurement behind that bill is accurate, verified, and legally sound. That’s foundational. If you can’t trust the measurement, you can’t trust the system.

For utilities, it provides regulatory certainty. For customers, it provides consumer protection. And for the sector as a whole, it underpins the entire revenue framework that keeps the grid operating safely and reliably.

Why is modernization necessary now? What has changed?

This legislation largely dates back to the 1980s. If you think about it, just about everything around us that has changed since then. There was no internet as we know it, no smartphones, no cloud computing, no smart devices in our homes… the electricity system has gone through that same kind of transformation.

Today, we operate with digital meters, secure communications networks, remote software updates, and detailed interval data. The grid is more dynamic: customers have solar panels, they have EVs. Power can flow in more than one direction.

The law was written for a much simpler, more mechanical system. Modernization is about keeping strong consumer protections intact, in a system that now looks very different from the one imagined in the 1980s.

There has been consistent advocacy from Electricity Canada’s membership for the last decade this to Measurement Canada to review components of the Act.

For example, in 2018 we sent them a proposal of some potential language updates and different research we had done. In 2022, there was a consultation on the EGIA, and we were very active and submitted a report with recommendations. It’s our understanding that all that advocacy we've done for the last 10 years, specifically 2018 and 2022 were largely considered when they built the S-3 amendments.

What specific updates or clarifications has Electricity Canada recommended to ensure the Act remains fit-for-purpose?

The Metering Technology and Policy Committee was very deliberate in how we approached this.

First, we’ve recommended modernizing the definition of a meter so it reflects today’s technology, including the software-enabled components that are now integral to how measurement happens.
Second, we’ve asked for clarity around Legal Units of Measurement. As utilities increasingly use interval data and more advanced capabilities, we need to ensure the framework clearly supports how energy is measured and billed in today’s environment.

These recommendations reflect consensus from utilities across the country. They are not radical changes. They’re careful adjustments to ensure the legislation continues to work as intended. To protect consumers while enabling modern grid operations.

We wanted our recommendations to be measured, practical. Frankly, we wanted them to be technically sound and difficult to challenge. This isn’t about sweeping reform. It’s about targeted updates that reflect operational reality.

Thank for joining us, Cameron! You appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy to present these recommendations. What was that experience like, and what did you hope Senators would take away?

Appearing before the Senate was both a fascinating experience and a significant responsibility. Not everyone gets a front row view of how government decision-making works, and it was eye opening to see how Measurement Canada executives articulate their objectives and the challenges they face in administering complex legislation. It was a valuable learning opportunity, and I felt honoured to shoulder the responsibility of representing utilities from across the country.

What I hope we managed to do was to communicate highly technical concepts into language that’s accessible to the Senators without oversimplifying them. Revenue metering and measurement law can be complex, but the implications are very straightforward. Customers need confidence that what they’re being billed for is accurate and fair, and that confidence must be maintained in an environment where technology is advancing rapidly.

The dialogue with Senators was constructive and thoughtful, and it reinforced me that there’s a shared interest in ensuring the legislation remains both credible and fit for purpose in the years ahead.

From a technical perspective, why was it important that the Senate hear directly from someone working in revenue metering and standards?

From a technical perspective, it was important that the Senate hear directly from someone working in revenue metering and standards because there can be a real gap between policy intent and operational reality. What’s required to design, certify, deploy, and operate modern metering systems isn’t always obvious from outside the industry, particularly as technology becomes more integrated and software driven.

Being able to explain how metrology functions in today’s systems helps clarify these discussions in practical reality. Definitions or policy choices that may seem straightforward on paper can have significant real-world implications—affecting how measurement systems are engineered, how equipment is approved, how compliance is demonstrated, and how the change management of innovation should be structured. Clarifying those impacts is critical to ensuring legislation works as intended.

It was also important to demonstrate that utilities place a high value on technical due diligence. The recommendations put forward are grounded in years of industry experience, engineering rigor, and standards expertise, and they reflect a deliberate effort to balance flexibility with strong regulatory compliance.

Ultimately, this is about accommodating technological innovation while maintaining fairtrade measurement practices and protecting customer confidence. Hearing that perspective directly from someone working in the industry helps ensure policy decisions are informed by how these systems actually operate.

Read Electricity Canada’s submission on our website.

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Forging Canada's Electricity Future

On January 26^th, Electricity Canada launched its eighth annual State of the Canadian Electricity Industry entitled “Forging Canada’s Electricity Future”. The report outlines what it will take to double Canada’s grid while balancing ambition, affordability, reliability, and trust. Current Affairs sat down with Electricity Canada’s Vice President of Government Relations Mike Powell, to dive deeper.

Hi Mike, thanks for joining us. This year’s state of the industry is called ‘Forging Canada’s Electricity Future’. How does “forge” encompass the overall theme of the report?

[Mike holds up the report]

As you can see, the actual picture on the front cover is a steel mill, where you’re creating something new. With metal forging, it is with heat and fire, but for us, it’s with effort and focus. The Prime Minister was in Davos a couple weeks ago and had a speech that underlined that the world is changing. We have to make sure as a country that we're setting ourselves up to be as economically self-sufficient and independent as possible, and that we have to be competitive and be able to build things in a way that is different than we would've assumed in the past. At the heart of that, for us to power the economy in a way that meets people’s and business’s needs, that starts with electricity.

In the last election, the government committed to making Canada a clean and conventional energy superpower. That starts with our strong success with our electricity sector, but we can't stop where we are. We need to think about how we can forge a new future and build an electricity system that meets the needs of tomorrow… and it’s going to need to be bigger, more resilient from a variety of different threats, and it will have to work differently.

The report emphasises a need for national integrated electricity grid. Where are the immediate opportunities and where should Canada explore future connections?

We commissioned some work with Deloitte to think about where the near-term opportunities are to build and increase the capacity to move power between Canadian provinces. Some of that is already underway! Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are already building a new line that will add additional reliability between Canada's Atlantic provinces. There are opportunities, in Western Canada to better connect the Prairie provinces to British Columbia. Ontario and Quebec already have an existing power swap where they change power between seasons and there's room to grow on that. There are some opportunities where we can better use the assets we have.

Everyone is short on power right now. There's a medium-term and long-term need to increase the amount of power that we produce, but how can we trade power between our jurisdictions a little better so that we can make sure we're taking best advantage of what that is? We’ve looked at the tangible steps of what the federal government can do including looking at some planning pieces, partnering with provinces and system operators and utilities to see what the opportunities for growth look like. Transmission is long lead time in some cases, so the time to get started is now, and so that is a key part of it.

Canada's Major Projects Office gets a shout-out in being a significant step forward to building large infrastructure projects faster, but there's still work to be done. Can you talk about what the next steps would be into getting all projects on track for all electricity infrastructure?

I think the Major Project Office (MPO) is doing some great work. Identifying key national projects and moving them along through the system is a big deal, but there's only so many of them. It really says something about our sector that of the first 11 or so major projects, three of them are electricity projects. But the first thing, is what lessons can we take from this process and how can we look to expedite projects more generally, so everything is moving at a two-year pace? I think that means taking the lessons of the MPO and finding out where those points of friction are and how we can simplify them across the board.

The second is looking for ways in which we can continue to better align federal and provincial processes so that you're moving forward with one approval.

In an era where we need to find every megawatt we can for the future, we can't wait around doing study after study if they aren't core to thinking about the ways in which we can make sure that a project is successful and balances both the needs of future energy use and that we're doing our part to make sure it integrates properly with environmental and other social concerns.

What is the biggest takeaway you want people to get out of this report?

I think for me, it's that we got a lot of work to do if we're going to meet the needs of becoming an energy superpower. We have a strong start. More than 80% of our electricity is already non-emitting. We have very affordable and reliable electricity. It is based on investments that we have made as a country with provincial governments and territorial governments and national governments for generations for really big assets, but we don't really get credit for the work that we've done. Now, we have to think about how we can get credit for the work that we're going to do. This is our eighth State of the Industry report, but the call to action we've always had is that there's an urgency to movement.

Out of all of the recommendations in the state of the industry, what do you think the government should tackle first?

One that strikes me that we've been working on for a little while are the EIFEL rules, which is an interest deductibility limit that they put in. They've changed how you count the taxes on interest for debt, and at a time when we're asking companies to invest more money into Canada to build more infrastructure, this actually makes it more expensive to do so. It has a material impact on some of our members for decisions that they already made.

Where the focus on EIFEL is to undo it altogether, or create a very clear exemption for infrastructure and existing debt that allows us to get building, this is a thing that the government could put in a budget bill and pass, and it will make it a substantially better investment climate for Canada to build the kind of things that we need. It doesn't require big paperwork and it doesn't require people swinging hammers to build factories. It is literally just a matter of the tax folks at Finance Canada, making a change and going back to how things were even just a couple of years ago. To me, that's one you could tick off your to- do list Monday morning so you can focus on the other hard stuff.

Read the full report on our website.

Listen to the Flux Capacitor episode on the State of the Canadian Electricity Industry featuring Electricity Canada’s Executive Team

Watch our President and CEO Francis Bradley discuss the 2026 State of the Canadian Electricity Industry report, at the Parliamentary Press Gallery on January 27, 2026.

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Ringing in the new year with Electricity Canada!

Electricity Canada is kicking off the new year and ready to take on new challenges! Current Affairs sits down with our President and CEO Francis Bradley to discuss 2026 predictions, opportunities on the horizon and of course, the Flux Capacitor podcast.

Hi Francis, thank you for joining us! Last year when we interviewed you about the year ahead in 2025, you said the big issues were going to be political change and meeting growing demand. How do you think those predictions went?

I think we, as a sector, encountered both!
On the Canadian side of things, at the very beginning of the year, there was this assumption that we were going to be facing a landslide victory by the Conservatives and it would be a wholesale change. In the end that didn't happen. We had another Liberal government elected, but it is a very, very different Liberal government and it has a very different approach to all of the files that are of interest to us.

Politically, we have moved beyond talking about how the future is going to be different. We have a government that seems to be interested in trying to address some of the changes that are going to be required for us to be able to meet those challenges in the cross-border issue.

This time last year, we were facing the possibility of tariffs because the President-Elect who was not yet President at the time, was musing about the potential for tariffs. And of course, we've seen tariffs, and they have had significant impact on the Canadian economy as a whole.

In terms of growing electricity demand, we have seen in some quarters a little bit less demand because we have at least one quarter of an economic downturn in the country. Some sectors are feeling it, but on the other hand, we've now got a better idea of what the rise of artificial intelligence is going to mean for the electricity. We don't know exactly all the contours of that, but the two things that we do know, number one, we're going to see even more demand than we thought for data centres and hyperscalers. And two, we have a government in Ottawa that seems very determined that we will have a sovereign AI sector in this country, which was not something that was part of the lexicon even a year ago.

What is that going to mean for electricity demand going forward? Over the years we have talked about how critically important reliability is, but when electricity is meeting barely more than 20% demand of end use energy in this country, reliability is important, but it is not as important as it will be in the future when electricity meets far more of end use energy demand which is the way that AI is powered in the future.

I think the critical need for reliability will only be greater because of our increasing reliance on AI. And it sounds as though there’s a political desire here in Ottawa to make sure that there is the sovereign approach to data centres, artificial intelligence, and our Canadian electronic infrastructure in the future. We don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like, but it is going to be huge.

What do you think will be facing the electricity sector in 2026 besides data centres and hyperscalers?

It is going to be greater demand and how we accommodate that greater demand in the context of ensuring that we have sovereign capability in different critical sectors. It isn't just AI. I've spent time on the Hill last week on the issue of steel- every G-7 country has a strong domestic steel sector. We are facing some significant challenges, however Canada has so much natural resources to be able to fuel a steel sector. While we're seeing some short-term challenges with recent layoffs announced at Algoma, but the long-term prospect is going to be very positive.

The challenges that we've been facing from an international trade standpoint are short-to-medium-term. Over the long-term Canada has the resources and has the energy to be what our current government wants us to be - a superpower in these spaces. Whether it's electricity or critical minerals or just the non-critical minerals.

While rhetoric sometimes coming from the White House is "we don't need anything that Canada has”’, we know that that is demonstrably not true.

We're a year into Electricity Canada's strategic plan focused on Economic Growth and Optimization, Resilience and Energy Security. How are we as an association building on these "big rocks"?

We’re in a place right now where our board committees are now getting off the ground, are up to speed and have a deeper understanding of what we are doing in our councils and committees.

For the three strategic goals, I think what we're going to see in 2026 is very direct and specific strategic direction coming from these board committees that will help us be even more focused, more targeted, and therefore more effective in those three areas that you mentioned, growth and optimization, resiliency and security.

We’ve already started seeing the first steps in late 2025 when for example, the Security Committee has been particularly active, and we now have more of our CEOs who have security clearances. We have begun a cycle in November of this year, the first will be a series of classified briefings for our board members. The Security Committee is starting to look a lot like the Electricity Sub-sector Coordinating Council (ESCC), in the United States where we bring CEOs together with the most senior people in government to address the most critical issues of the sector.

We also have examples in the two other committees where we're seeing CEO level engagement on these issues and our organisation is benefitting from that engagement by having a clear focus and an ability to speak more clearly as an advocate for the sector.

There's a lot of challenges and opportunities ahead in 2026. What are the challenges you think the sector should watch out for, and what are the opportunities that excite you?

I think the biggest challenge from a federal policy perspective has everything to do with how the government could or should be helping us to build for the future demand. And whether they're going to make it easier reduce the challenges with respect to siting or not. I think Bill C-5 (The One Canadian Economy Act) sends all the right messages that this is a government that is determined that we're going to get big things done. There are still a couple of issues however, number one, Bill C-5 only addresses a small number of national projects deemed of national importance. Our ability to meet the challenges of the future are not going to be dependent on a small number of major projects, but a large number of medium sized and smaller projects like the refurbishment of existing facilities.

Secondly, is the challenge of addressing the fundamental challenges we have with respect to getting things sited and the duplication of regulatory processes within different government departments. We still have pieces of legislation like the Clean Electricity Regulations, the Fisheries Act, the Impact Assessment Act and the Navigable Waters Act that our members are continuing to trip over to get things done.

The opportunities are that we know that demand is going to increase and it's going to continue to increase despite a step back in the United States from commitments to environmental protection and decarbonization. We know that customers are continuing to electrify whether it is transportation, whether it is home heating, whether it is greater automation. And so, the opportunities of a growing electricity sector are real. I'm very positive when looking towards the future, that combination of what's going to be a growing electricity sector and a federal government that is publicly saying it wants to help get projects moving forward more quickly shows that we're going to continue to see a real acceleration of projects in this sector.

Give us a sneak peek of the Flux Capacitor in 2026.

We are ending 2025 with 130 podcast episodes and 2026 will actually be our organisations 135^th year! I think what the listener will be hearing different next year is a bit of a step back to more in-person conversations and I think fewer conversations on Zoom.

I did a couple of podcasts in 2025 that were in person, and they felt like better conversations. As I discussed with Allan Danroth on episode 130, we spent the last five and a half years sitting in front of our computer screens and it makes all the difference in the world from a communication and building relationship standpoint to actually have conversations with people in real time, in person.

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Electricity Canada events: a year in review

2025 has been a busy year for Electricity Canada! From packed conferences to unforgettable networking moments, we’re looking back at the events that brought our industry together. Current Affairs sat down with Faran Mirza, Director of Business Development and Events to chat through our highlights, lessons learned and what to expect in 2026.

Hi Faran, thanks for joining us! In your 2025 highlight reel, which Electricity Canada events would be in there and why?

Where to start? We had so many firsts this year and we were really excited with the events that we did in 2025. I'll probably start with our Time to Build event. It took place this past October at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, where we brought in folks from the government relations world, along with our members and Corporate Partners. We discussed what is needed start building electricity infrastructure and how the government and our members can take advantage of this opportunity to propel economic growth.

I'd also like to mention our AMP Talks event that took place in Toronto in the historic El Mocambo. It is a venue where the Rolling Stones and Blondie and famous acts like that performed back in the day, starting in the late fifties, going up into the seventies. It’s more of a museum now, and you can still see great rock and roll artifacts. We are used to taking our folks to a boardroom or a closed office environment, so this was really cool to get out of that pattern. The format of the event itself was also really unique. We held a ‘TED Talk’ style event and gave eight corporate partners the opportunity to showcase their innovations and solutions to grid modernization in front our members in short 12-minute pitches or presentations. The members and Corporate Partners both really appreciated that bite size format.

If I was to pick a third, I would mention our drone symposium in Montreal with Hydro Quebec which I think was a first of its kind as well! This one-day symposium focused solely on drones and drone technologies and how they're being utilised to solve challenges both in the health and safety space, but in electricity technology.

What can members and corporate partners expect from Electricity Canada next year?

We’re looking at more new things, but also more of the same. We are now looking to being more creative into how we host meetings and events. We are starting to look at new venues and new spaces to host our meetings and really keep the excitement up around events. I’d like to try to keep people out of a traditional boardroom environment, as I mentioned. No matter where we are, the thing that will remain the same is keeping the connections between our members and our Corporate Partners alive, so that means giving them exclusive opportunities to meet and mingle and discuss their common issues and problems and how they're being solved.

Adding any kind of demonstrations is certainly key, and we saw that our drone symposium and Powering Partnerships as well, where we had about 10 Corporate Partner booths and eight Centre of Excellence project displays. People really enjoy walking around, seeing things physically and interacting with those subject matter experts. That is something that we'd like to do more of.

What is the most important thing you've learned this year about managing events?

I think the most important thing is member experience and Corporate Partner experience. We are making sure that is kept front of mind so that people are enjoying the event and it's conducive to a healthy networking environment. And speaking of networking, I have learned to think more out of the box and be creative in how we host networking events and get people to connect with each other. Everyone should be enjoying it and getting value out of it, but it should also be a fresh and engaging experience.

Oh, also never underestimate the power of a branded umbrella!

Fill in the blank: In 2026 I am most looking forward to _______.

Creating more memorable experiences for our entire audience, whether they're partners, members, government officials or stakeholders and creating those unique experiences where people can say, ‘Hey, that Electricity Canada event in 2026 was fantastic. We'd love to come to that again in 2027’. I’m also looking forward to hearing from our members and corporate partners and giving them more opportunities to connect with new people as well as reconnect with old colleagues.

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Energizing the Economy

What will it take to energize the economy? Electricity Canada’s upcoming Powering Partnerships Summit in Vancouver, BC brings together experts from across Canada and the electricity sector to discuss just that. Current Affairs sat down with Julia Muggeridge, Vice President of Communications and Sustainability and Graeme Burk, Director of Communications at Electricity Canada to find out what guests can expect at our biggest industry event of the year.

The theme for this year's Powering Partnerships event is energising the economy. What inspired this theme and how is it relevant to what's happening in the electricity sector right now?

Graeme: The idea came from our hosts BC Hydro! I think it really works well because in the next 25 years, we're going to need to electrify the economy like we've never done before. There are all kinds of demands on the electricity system and so much infrastructure that needs to be built. There are also many obstacles in doing so. The question really is, what do we need to do to kickstart it all to energize the economy, as it were, to make it all happen?

Julia: Our CEO, Francis Bradley, always says that ‘electricity is the first billion’. Meaning, there really is no economy without electricity and that’s what should be addressed first. I think that really sums it up.

Who can we expect to see at the symposium?

Julia: The entire electricity sector will be there! Energy stakeholders, BC government and BC Hydro staff. There will be lots of Electricity Canada members representing generation technology, our Chief Financial Officers, our Sustainable Electricity members and of course corporate partners.

Graeme: We have some interesting panels and discussions. In our programming, we have a gathered some of the most senior people in health and safety talking about how to keep the electricity systems safe with a corporate partner from Engine Room. We have a panel on projects of national interest where have two Indigenous speakers, and we have someone from GT and Company joining them. Our panels are pulled together from some the best of our corporate partners, the best of our members across the country.

The one I am most looking forward to, is on the electric worldview where we have our pollster, Greg Lyle, talking to three people who are experts on electrification around the globe and can talk to efforts where they've gone through the energy transition.

Julia: Really?

Graeme: Really (laughter).

In the mix of presentations and panels, there are also some unscripted conversations that just say two CEOs, no notes, no comms, just conversation. What are you hoping the audience can learn from these energy leaders?

Julia: There is nothing more interesting than hearing the heads of two really big organizations talking about what keeps them up at night, and so we wanted to have some conversations set aside where we're hoping to experience what it’s like sitting in in their living room or at their restaurant table.

We have given them some general themes to speak to, from passing the torch for two very senior BC Hydro CEOs, resilience and the East/West grid. We're just really hoping to sit in on what a conversation between two CEOs at our board meeting would normally be. We want the audience to experience that.

Graeme already answered this, but Julia, what session are you most looking forward to?

Julia: I am most looking forward to an unscripted conversation between the CEO of SaskPower and the CEO of Manitoba Hydro because they're going to be talking about the East/West grid and what that means. These are two leaders of two Crown Corporations that are right next to each other, so they're going to be able to dig in as to why these interconnections aren't happening fast enough and what's standing in the way of a better East/West relationship.

This is a fill in the blank. We can energize our economy by _________.

Julia: Growing the grid and investing in our sector.

Graeme: Interties and making our grid East/West instead of a North/South one.

Julia: That’s your choice? (they both laugh)

Check out the agenda for Electricity Canada’s Powering Partnerships Summit on our website.

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