As Park Power is a newer energy retailer in the province, consumers might wonder, “How can I be sure power will be delivered to my home or business after I sign up with a smaller boutique retailer like Park Power?” The answer is that the delivery of power to the end users is not in the hands of the retail provider but in the hands of the Alberta Electric System Operater (AESO) and the transmission and distribution companies. Energy retailers like Park Power mainly look after the billing and customer service aspect of electricity supply.
GENERATION – Electricity is generated at power plants (coal, natural gas, biomass, hydro and wind)
TRANSMISSION – It is then delivered across the province through the the high voltage transmission network.
DISTRIBUTION – From the high voltage transmission lines electricity is distributed to the end user on the lower voltage distribution network that is serviced by the electricity distribution companies (EPCOR and FortisAlberta for Park Power customers). The distribution company owns the power meters and keep track of the consumers’ usage.
RETAILER – The distribution companies let the energy retailer know how much energy a customer has used for a billing period and the retailer charges and collects payment from the customer.
The entirety of the system is monitored 24 hours a day 365 days a year by the AESO. The AESO monitors both generation and consumption to ensure that there is electricity available for Alberta’s ever increasing demand. Whenever rolling brown outs or black outs happen it is because the qualified personnel in the AESO control room determined there is a need to reduce consumption to maintain the reliability and integrity of the electrical grid. At other times when a physical fault in the distribution network causes a power outage to your home or business it is the responsibility of the distribution company to repair the system and restore service back to the consumers.
According to the AESO, since 2005 electricity demand in Alberta has increased 14 percent and the projected annual increase in demand from 2012-2012 is 4 percent. While demand in the province is increasing new generation supply has not yet increased. In fact Alberta may see up to a dozen coal fired generation plants (around 1/3 of total current capacity) decomissioned over the next 15 to 20 years. When you consider the economics of this situation that as demand goes up so could the price, it is worthwhile considering signing up for one of Park Power’s Stable Rate Plans
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