Energy minister names 5 priority power

Energy minister names 5 priority power-line projects for federal backing

Move is part of Ottawa's aim to double the electricity grid by 2050

The federal government announced on Friday that it will prioritize infrastructure upgrades that would allow provinces to share excess electricity more cheaply and easily.

Energy Minister Tim Hodgson highlighted five power-line projects, or interties, that the federal government is working on with the provinces and Yukon. Interties are power lines that cross borders or regions, transmitting electricity in both directions.

"We are supporting these projects because it is through transmission lines like these and a more connected electricity system writ large that we can improve reliability, we can lower costs and we can support economic growth," Hodgson said at news conference.

A senior government official who was not authorized to speak publicly shared the details of Friday's announcement in advance with CBC News. While no new dollar figure was attached to the announcement, the federal government will "prioritize financial and regulatory support" for the five projects, according to a draft news release shared with CBC in advance.

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These new intertie projects come as Ottawa set the ambitious goal of doubling Canada's electric grid by 2050 to meet the growing demand from industry, electric vehicles, heat pumps and artificial intelligence.

While increasing generating capacity is part of that plan, the federal government has said it is committed to helping connect provincial grids. Those systems tend to trade more electricity with the U.S. than they do within Canada.

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"Most provinces in Canada are more connected to the United States itself," said Stephen Thomas, a clean energy manager with the David Suzuki Foundation. "So that needs to change. We need to rely on the United States less as an electricity partner."

Policy experts have called for building interties across the nation capable of transmitting more than 2,000 megawatts of power. To put that in perspective, that's a level of electricity generated by two Site C hydroelectric dams in B.C.

None of the projects announced on Friday approaches that scale.

Alberta-British Columbia intertie

Saskatchewan-Manitoba intertie expansion

P.E.I.-New Brunswick interconnection expansion

British Columbia-Yukon grid connect

Natural gas to play key role in strategy to double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050

Thomas, with the David Suzuki Foundation, said the projects fall short.

"We applaud this small step, but the problem is scale. The federal government needs to be investing in electricity projects like this on the scale of tens of billions of dollars, not just a few million. So, our concern is that this doesn't go far enough," Thomas said.

Hodgson made the announcement in Yellowknife as he wrap up meetings with his provincial and territorial counterparts at the Energy and Mines Ministers' Conference.

Senior reporter, Parliamentary Correspondent

David Thurton is a senior reporter in CBC's Parliamentary Bureau. He covers daily politics in the nation’s capital and specializes in environment and energy policy. Born in Canada but raised in Trinidad and Tobago, he’s moved around more times than he can count. He’s worked for CBC in several provinces and territories, including Alberta and the Northwest Territories. He can be reached at david.thurton@cbc.ca