United States: The North American energy stability remains at risk as an industry watchdog cautions against trade war-related restrictions of cross-border electricity and gas supplies between Canada and the US.
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Both Canada and the US maintain a “symbiotic relationship” on their electric power supply networks through imports between each other to satisfy their energy needs.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation asserts that any attempt to limit power or gas supply exports would create a “big problem” for both Canada and the United States.
According to Jim Robb, Nerc’s chief executive, “If some of the saber-rattling around ‘turning off exports’ occurs, it could create a significant resource adequacy problem for the Canadian provinces that benefit from US exports as well the [US] states along the border that benefit from Canadian imports,” ft.com reported.
Retaliation by Canada
Following Donald Trump’s Tuesday move to apply 25 percent tariffs on US imports from Canada, Canadian officials have threatened to impose surcharges on power exports to America and terminate all supply operations.
The Liberal party leadership favorite Mark Carney stated during the Saturday contest for prime minister that he would restrict electricity shipments to the United States if a trade conflict occurs.
Furthermore, Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, mentioned that he would “immediately apply a 25 percent surcharge on the electricity we export” if the Trump administration’s Canada tariffs persisted.
“We will not hesitate to shut off their power as well,” he mentioned.
As per a Financial Times report, Ontario provides around 1.5mn Americans in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota with electricity.
Other Canadian provinces deliver power through cross-border transmission lines to US states, which span from the Midwest to the western areas.
Last year, the United States purchased USD 2.1 billion worth of electricity from Canada, based on BloombergNEF research.
The electrical power exchange between the two countries remains minimal because it amounts to less than 1 percent of total power output.
The balancing of the electric power supply with the needs of the grid happens in real-time through this process.