Natural Resources committee  Thank you. I have a brief, 10-page deck that I'll try to go through very quickly just to provide members with an overview of the role of nuclear in Canada. First I would like to outline the role and the potential role for nuclear in Canada, what the role of the federal government is, a bit of a broad overview of the policy framework, and then some important developments in the last few years.

Natural Resources committee  Some of my colleagues may be more familiar with the technology side and some of the projects on the clean coal side. Graham, would you like to respond?

Natural Resources committee  I believe the rule of thumb I've heard is about 20%. I know that Hans Konow is going to be a witness, and he's nodding. Subsequently he may be able to shed some more light on this, but 20% as a rule of thumb would be a more comfortable margin for most of the utilities; 25% is getting a little bit high, as a result of overbuilding in the past, but I think 15% is probably getting a little bit tight for what people would be most comfortable with.

Natural Resources committee  I don't have the data here today. The data we're presenting is from a Hydro-Québec publication, which is one of the best publications comparing electricity prices across jurisdictions. That information is available for both, as there are a lot of tables for the industrial sector and the commercial sector.

Natural Resources committee  I think we're talking about relatively small hydro projects here. In fact the criteria is that it be EcoLogo certified to benefit from the subsidy. We do anticipate, in places like British Columbia, for example, that a number of projects will be supported under this initiative. It's not a program that is really directed at assisting big hydro, which tends to be economic in its own right and, as you say, has a very long lead time, beyond the horizons of this program.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. Under the National Energy Board Act, the government has the power through the Governor in Council to designate an interprovincial power line as coming under federal regulation. This is an amendment to the act introduced I think in the early 1990s, but it's actually never been exercised.

Natural Resources committee  The question of development of an east-west grid in Canada is, I guess, one that's a perennial issue that has been studied from time to time. The federal government had a program of fostering regional interconnections for about 25 years, between about 1970 and 1995. The program at that time would provide loans at crown corporation borrowing rates for half the cost of studies of major new east-west interconnections.

Natural Resources committee  No, the federal government has no specific policy supporting them, although in the $1.5 billion eco-trust announcement that was made recently when the Prime Minister and Premier McGuinty were in Ontario, the hope was expressed that some of that money could be used to help.

Natural Resources committee  I believe 23% is the right figure.

Natural Resources committee  I can maybe speak of one program in particular, on the renewable energy side, and maybe Carol can speak on the energy efficiency side. The major new initiative, at least in my branch, that we announced, was the eco-energy for renewable power initiative. The previous program that was in operation provided the subsidy of 1¢ per kilowatt hour over ten years, but only for wind energy.

Natural Resources committee  A large part of that is petroleum and gas in all sectors.

Natural Resources committee  Pardon?

Natural Resources committee  Yes. I believe the 36% is primarily production of oil and gas and not the energy sector.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to be here. We have provided committee members with a deck called “Electricity Supply and Consumption in Canada”. We thought it might be helpful to the committee to provide a bit of context for the electricity sector in Canada: responsibilities of the provincial and federal governments; some of the challenges facing the electricity sector in Canada; and some federal government support programs for meeting one of those challenges, which is ensuring a more sustainable, environmentally benign electricity supply.

Natural Resources committee  I'm glad you raised the question, because often when we're discussing renewable energy, we just focus on the financial side. It's easy to lose sight I think of other dimensions that are important. Certainly, in some of these technologies, getting proper standards developed so that they can be certified can be very important.