JUNE 2024
Corporate Governance Transparency: A Scorecard for Electricity Distribution Utilities in Ontario
Guy Holburn and Semme Regnault
This Report examines the transparency of corporate governance practices of local electricity distribution companies (LDCs) in Ontario, creating a new scorecard that identifies strong and weak performers within the sector.
JUNE 2023
Submission to the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel
Brandon Schaufele, Adam Fremeth, and Brian Rivard
This submission to Ontario's Electrification and Energy Transition Panel proposes planning agencies and planning regulations explicitly acknowledge and adjust for this risk and future uncertainties in decision-making.
OCTOBER 2022
Where's the Cheque? Governance, Ownership, and Dividend Policies of Electric Utilities
Adam Fremeth and Guy Holburn
The Policy Brief documents and analyzes annual dividend payments by all 71 LDCs in Ontario from
2014 to 2019
JULY 2022
Efficiency Analysis in Electricity Rate Design: A Case Study of Alberta’s Bulk and Regional Transmission Tariff
Derek E. H. Olmstead, Brian Rivard, and Mark Zanewick
This Policy Brief discusses the importance of efficiency analysis in the design of regulated electricity rates, through a case study of the Alberta Electric System Operator’s (AESO) proposed Bulk and Regional Transmission Tariff. The AESO is the Independent System Operator (ISO) that operates in the province of Alberta.
JANUARY 2022
Corporate Governance of Government-Owned Utilities: Lessons from EPCOR Utilities Inc.
Guy Holburn and David Hay
Hugh Bolton discusses his experience as Chair and his insights about corporate governance in the municipal utility sector in a conversation with Guy Holburn, Professor at Ivey Business School, and David Hay, Director of EPCOR and of Hydro One. Janice Rennie, the current Chair of EPCOR and a board member from 1996 to 2004, shared her perspective on the early years of EPCOR’s transformation after its incorporation in 1995
Electrification and Investment in Electricity Infrastructure
Guy Holburn, Brian Rivard and Sorena Rahi
Canada’s electricity sector has the potential to play a central role in the country’s transition to a low emission economy and in meeting Paris Agreement emission reduction commitments, due to its significant utilization of zero emission hydroelectric, nuclear and renewable power generation technologies – which rank Canada as having one of the world’s greenest electricity grids.
JUNE 2021
Investment in Canada's Clean Technology Sector
Jiya Hai, Guy Holburn, Sorena Rahi and Brian Rivard
This Policy Brief provides an in-depth assessment of the climate for investment in clean energy technology industries in Canada based on data from an extensive survey of senior energy sector executives conducted by the Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre at Ivey Business School.
DECEMBER 2020
Energy in Canada: A Statistical Overview
Ramin Alahdad, Jiya Hai, Guy Holburn and Brian Rivard
This Policy Brief is an update of our 2016 Brief with the same title, and offers a statistical overview of the key contributions of the energy sector to Canada’s economy. The Brief also provides statistics on the energy industries’ progress in lowering production emission intensity in recognition of Canada’s net-zero emissions goal.
JULY 2020
The Investment Climate for Canada’s Energy Sector
Guy Holburn and Brian Rivard
This report assesses the investment climate for Canada’s electricity, gas, oil, and pipeline industries, based on responses from 260 senior energy sector executives to an online survey conducted by the Ivey Energy Centre towards the end of 2019. The goal of the survey was to better understand what factors are driving energy companies’ investment decisions and how Canada compares to other countries.
SEPTEMBER 2019
What Do We Know About Household Energy Conservation Programs? Evidence from Medicine Hat
Brandon Schaufele
In 2008, the City of Medicine Hat, Alberta, launched a large-scale energy conservation program called HAT Smart, an initiative targeted at reducing residential per capita energy consumption. This policy brief aims to evaluate the actual energy savings and net economic benefits – both in electricity and natural gas – achieved by the program. This analysis also offers an opportunity to learn from this program and situate the results of HAT Smart within a growing body of research studying similar programs offered in other jurisdictions.
JULY 2019
Don’t leave me stranded: What to do with Ontario’s Global Adjustment?
Brian Rivard
This Policy Brief offers an economic perspective to the ongoing policy discussions around the global adjustment. The global adjustment is a monthly fee paid by Ontario consumers to cover the fixed cost to build and maintain generation assets in the province, and to deliver Ontario’s conservation programs.
MARCH 2019
Best Practice Principles of Corporate Governance for Crown Corporations
Guy Holburn and Adam Fremeth
This report provides an overview of recommended best practice principles for corporate governance arrangements of Crown corporations, government-owned enterprises with mixed commercial and public policy objectives.
NOVEMBER 2018
Regulating Mega-Projects: The Case of Muskrat Falls
Guy Holburn
In May 2011, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced that costs associated with the Muskrat Falls project would be exempt from regulatory review and approval by the Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities (PUB). This report examines the purpose and role of regulatory agencies in the electricity sector and assesses the effect of exempting the Muskrat Falls project from PUB oversight.
JULY 2018
A Historical and Comparative Perspective on Ontario’s Electricity Rates
Adam Fremeth and Guy Holburn
This Policy Brief provides a historical and comparative perspective on the development of Ontario’s electricity rates from 1970 to 2015, the modern era of electricity in the province, which includes the addition of commercial-scale nuclear generation, efforts to deregulate and restructure the wholesale power market, as well as recent initiatives to decarbonize generation and reduce consumption.
JANUARY 2018
Improving Governance and Strategy in Ontario’s LDC Sector
Adam Fremeth and Guy Holburn
This report documents the results from a new survey of 384 directors of LDCs in Ontario that profiles directors’ professional careers and views about organizational financial priorities, diversification, and mergers and acquisitions.
JULY 2017
Backgrounder on Generation Capacity Markets
Adam Fremeth, Guy Holburn, Margaret Loudermilk and Brandon Schaufele
This policy brief provides a description of key attributes and functioning of capacity markets, and discusses some important caveats and key messages in considering the implementation of a capacity market in Ontario.
APRIL 2017
The Economic Cost of Electricity Generation in Ontario
Adam Fremeth, Guy Holburn, Margaret Loudermilk and Brandon Schaufele
This report brings an economic perspective to the analysis of electricity generation costs and prices in Ontario.
JANUARY 2017
Renewable Energy Policy and Wind Generation in Ontario
Margaret Loudermilk
This policy brief assesses whether Ontario's 2009 Green Energy and Green Economy Act had a measurable impact on the duration of regulatory approval processes for wind energy projects.
JULY 2016
Consumer Advocacy in Ontario's Energy Sector
Adam Fremeth and Guy Holburn
Recent legislation requires the Ontario Energy Board to establish a new process for the interests of consumers to be represented in its proceedings.
JANUARY 2016
Energy in Canada: A Statistical Overview
Adam Fremeth, Guy Holburn and Margaret Loudermilk
It is well known that energy industries are major contributors to Canada’s economy, and today Canada is one of the world’s leading energy economies. This fact is quickly illustrated by headline statistics: Canada is the world’s 3rd largest exporter of electricity, 5th largest exporter of natural gas, 7th largest exporter of crude oil, and 8th largest exporter of refined petroleum products.
OCTOBER 2014
Trends in Academic Research on Canadian Energy Policy, 2000-2012
Anisha George, Guy Holburn and Margaret Loudermilk
The energy sector plays a critical role in Canada's economy at both the national and provincial levels. This report provides a review of the current state of Canadian energy policy research in academic literature.
JUNE 2013
Wind Energy in Canada: A Survey of the Policy Environment
Guy Holburn, Dan Berry, Patrick McNaught, Michal Moore and Jennifer Winter
Since 2003, provincial governments in Canada have encouraged substantial private investment in renewable energy sources, notably in wind power which can provide environmental benefits at lower cost than other forms of renewable energy. This policy brief reports results from a unique national survey of firms active in the wind energy industry in Canada.
JANUARY 2011
Guidelines for Governance of the Electricity Sector in Canada
Guy Holburn
Electricity policy has become vastly more complex in the last decade due to new technology developments in power generation and smart metering, and also due to the increasing political priority placed on environmental stewardship. There is an urgent need for more informed debate on policy options in the electricity sector.
