At Electricity Canada, our membership packages are customized to advance both your company-specific goals and strategic interests, and are comprised of two segments:
- Base membership provides access to a wide range of cross-sectoral initiatives and networks, including:
- Human Resources, Indigenous Relations, Health and Safety, Joint Use Structures, Emerging Issues, Standards Development, Finance and Tax, Market Strategy, Technology, Government and Public Affairs, Reliability and Purchasing/Supply Chain.
- Add-on programs: Analytics and Finance, Tax and Accounting
- Council membership. Participation in at least one of 5 Councils and access to all council committees.
See our Council and Committee Chart for additional information.
Councils
Councils are the principal policy-setting bodies. Under the authority of the Board of Directors, each council provides funding and strategic oversight to various Committees and Networks that target specific high-priority issues within the Council’s area of focus.
Committees provide a forum for members to:
- Address priorities and initiate collective action
- Share best practices on operational issues
- Work together to develop consensus-based policy and regulatory recommendations
- Speak as one powerful voice on issues that present a collective commercial, technical, or reputational risk
Generation Council
The core mandate of the Generation Council is to provide strategic oversight and funding for policy development and advocacy by Electricity Canada on electricity generation issues, particularly related to the sector’s transition to net zero carbon emissions, climate change, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous affairs. The generation council also shares information and best practices among companies.
Key Priorities
- Climate change and federal commitments on Net Zero GHG emissions
- Resilience and climate adaptation
- Environmental legislation and regulations
- Industry focus on the removal of PCBs before the 2025 phase out deadline
Wins
- Clean Fuel Regulations: Advocacy on the clean fuel regulations. Electricity Canada was instrumental in securing the ability of distribution utilities to generate emissions credits.
- Climate Adaptation Guidance: Electricity Canada, in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada worked to develop a Climate Adaptation Guide for member companies.
Transmission Council
The Transmission Council provides strategic guidance and fosters collective action and information sharing on issues of tactical significance to transmission companies in Canada including maintaining grid reliability and resiliency, operational planning, asset management, regulatory development, and government policy and funding. The Council also seeks to influence issues being considered by the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Key Priorities
- Electromagnetic field health and safety concerns
- Vegetation management
- Cost-management best practices
- Regulation of bulk electric system reliability
- Real estate and right-of-way issues
Wins
- Supreme Court Win: T-Council’s Real Estate Network (REN) led a successful intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada which resulted in win for the entire electricity industry.
- Wildfire Mitigation: In 2020 the Best Practices Transmission Committee released a utility wildfire mitigation guide - this guide will be reviewed every 3 years to ensure viability.
- Representing Canadian Interest at US and Canadian Federal Regulators: T-Council’s Electricity Regulatory Advisory Committee (ERAC) works to ensure that Canadian perspectives are represented in relevant North American and cross-border regulatory forums, including the budget and business plan process and the standards development process for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).
Distribution Council
The Distribution Council provides strategic guidance and fosters collective action on issues of tactical significance to distribution companies in Canada including grid reliability and resiliency, operations and planning, regulatory innovation, revenue risks from load defection, and the need to increase customer and stakeholder engagement. The Council also seeks to influence federal and provincial policies and regulations related to infrastructure, metrology, smart grid initiatives, spectrum allocation and distributed energy resources.
Key Priorities
- Emerging regulatory risk
- Metering regulations
- Spectrum acquisition and management
- Joint use attachments
- Project management metrics
- Integration of operational technologies
- Power quality
- Mutual assistance
Wins
- Advancing Women in Skilled Trades Best Practices Guidance: D-Council collaborated with the HR Committee to prioritize the development and public release of the Electricity Canada Advancing Women in Skilled Trades Best Practices Guidance Document.
- CEA’s Annual Regulatory Forum at CAMPUT Annual Conference: D-Council’s Economic Regulation Committee steers an annual Regulatory Forum alongside the CAMPUT annual conference.
- Legal and Political Defense of Provincial Authority of Power Structure Attachments & Rates: D-Council’s Joint Use Committee helped to lead CEA intervention in the Telus vs. Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) federal court of appeal case involving regulatory authority over telecommunications attachment rates and access.
- Modernization of the Legislative Framework for Metering in Canada: D-Council’s Metering Committee Produced a public report communicating how the legal and regulatory framework for ‘Contractor’ in the Electricity & Gas Inspection Act (EGIA) should be modernized.
- Federal Regulatory Changes Enabling New Telecommunications Models for Electric Utilities: D-Council’s Telecommunications Committee successfully advocated for an unprecedented regulatory decision at the Canadian Radio-Television & Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) recognizing Canadian electric utilities as a new class of network operator which affords them greater privileges to build and operate their telecommunications systems for greater cybersecurity and network reliability.
Customer Council
The Customer Council fosters collective action on issues of strategic importance to utilities and customers with a focus on the delivery of value to electricity customers. The Customer Council emphasizes customer relations and tracks public attitudes.
Key Priorities
- Energy efficiency and conservation
- Customer relations
- Industry-Regulator dialogue
- National lighting initiative
- Natural Resources Canada collaboration
- Public attitudes
- Quality urban energy systems of tomorrow
Power Marketers Council
The Power Marketers Council represents the leading buyers and sellers of electricity, ancillary services, and other energy products in Canada and the United States. The Council includes representation from the marketing arms or subsidiaries of utilities, as well as independent energy traders.
Key Priorities
- Market access and trading
- Positive and mutually beneficial Canada-U.S. electricity trade relationship
- Peer information sharing
- Stakeholder meetings in support of relationship building
Questions?
For further information, please contact Julie Neelin, Electricity Canada's Corporate Secretary and Manager of Membership Services by phone at 613.325.1501.