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Energizing a brighter future for Alberta with hydrogen
By Lethbridge Herald on April 14, 2025.
By Nathan Neudorf
As Alberta grows, so does the need to make sure every Albertan has access to the affordable, reliable utilities.
From heating and cooling our homes, keeping businesses’ lights on, to providing new opportunities for entrepreneurs, utilities play a vital role in our province’s prosperity. Albertans and their families need to know that these utilities are there to support them in providing for their families and chasing their dreams.
As the Minister of Affordability and Utilities, this is my top priority. This week, I had the honour of acting on this priority by introducing Bill 52, Energy and Utilities Statutes Amendment Act, 2025.
This bill proposes changes to meet growing demand, prioritizing reliability and affordability in the modernization of our utility system. If passed, this bill will pave the way for hydrogen blending in the natural gas system, as well as support critical updates to power market rules and transmission policies to strengthen the power grid, lower and stabilize utility bills, and encourage investment in the province.
Our government considers hydrogen a key area for growth.cThe world is looking to hydrogen as an energy solution for hard-to-decarbonize industries. As the largest hydrogen producer in Canada, Alberta has the right resources and expertise to be a destination of choice for investors and innovators.
The changes we’re making will not only support hydrogen blending but ensure the safety and reliability for the natural gas system. Changes will protect ratepayers from rising costs by ensuring only those who receive hydrogen-blended natural gas in their homes and businesses will pay for any additional system costs. At the same time, utility providers will also be required to ensure community support on hydrogen blending projects.
We’re also taking the first of many steps to restructure our energy market to ensure our power grid can meet growing electricity demand.
Proposed amendments will ensure there is enough power available, at all times, reducing the risk of grid alerts in the future.
Better yet, our government has heard Albertans’ frustration on rising transmission costs, and I’m so pleased that we’re making much-needed updates to protect ratepayers from these rising costs. This includes making better use of existing infrastructure by maximizing the use of existing lines and ensuring new projects are built in optimal locations.
Costs for any new transmission lines will also be assigned on a cost-causation basis to ensure Albertans are not burdened with the full cost of any new transmission lines that need to be built. This contrasts with what happened under the NDP, when the hastily pushed through their coal phase-out and renewable projects drastically increased the need for new transmission lines – driving up those costs.
The changes we are making put Albertans first, not ideology, and I know that they will ensure Alberta’s utility system can power prosperity for generations to come.
Nathan Neudorf is the MLA for Lethbridge East.
11-10
First, Stephen Harper initiated the phase-out of coal-fired electricity generation. Renewable energy expansion is normally called ‘free enterprise’ by libertarians (unless, that is, it challenges fossil fuel consumption or other ideological bugbears like reducing greenhouse gas emissions).
As for hydrogen, are we talking ‘hydrogen from reforming natural gas’? I’m sure we are.
So, there you have it. Using natural gas to make hydrogen to to replace natural gas in the home. Net cost – higher. Net emissions – higher.
Hydrogen is not an energy source. It is an energy carrier, like electricity.
The real question: Who benefits? Because this makes no sense. Surprisingly, the Alberta government website is pretty honest about the actual industrial uses of hydrogen (mainly reformed from natural gas) – the list doesn’t include dumping it into home heating.
It’s well documented that using hydrogen for fuel has been an economic and performative failure. It’s also a disaster environmentally. Given this, the claim of not putting ideology first is ludicrous.
The worst effect of this policy is that Southern Alberta needs transmission lines to make use of its abundant natural resources but is banned from building them. Once again, Mr. Neudorf is destroying jobs in the Lethbridge area and ensuring the energy industry can only operate in north & central Alberta. Locations where his constituents live are apparently ‘not optimal’, based on a failed understanding of how renewable energy works.
The Utilities Minister’s record stretch of shackling us to Canada’s highest electricity prices promises to continue unbroken. Even Ovechkin may look at this streak with envy someday.
“Hydrogen can be produced from diverse domestic resources with the potential for near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Once produced, hydrogen can generate electrical power in a fuel cell, emitting only water vapor and warm air. It holds promise for growth in both the stationary power and transportation energy sectors.”.
Neudorf has spent over a year researching the economical viability of Hydrogen, and is proceeding because of this.
I think ‘researching’ might extend beyond industry benefactors of dumping hydrogen.
I wonder if anyone told him that blends above 5% increases the risk of leaks and steel embrittlement?
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/hydrogen-blends-higher-than-5-percent-raise-leak-embrittlement-risks/627895/
I recently had a conversation with someone who was blaming the UCP party for high electrical prices. The reason that we have such high electrical prices, is because the minute that the NDP got into power, they shut down all of our coal plants across Alberta. We had the most responsible environmentally ran coal plants in the world, many of which had long-term contracts that had to be paid out when the NDP made this move. It has not only cost Albertans money in ballooning electrical prices but also devastated the communities that depended on the coal plants and didn’t have time to transition to anything else. Paying out the long term contracts for these coal plants has also cost Alberta over 1 billion dollars. Another brutal NDP policy that has caused Albertans so much, and yet is now blamed on the UCP. Also the discussion referenced the need for more infrastructure and the fact is with the rate that Alberta has grown, that infrastructure will be needed no matter whether it be electricity or a hydrogen mix. Please start looking at the facts on the ground
O Jilly. Always the jokester. Surely someone as descriminating about research as you would know Stephen Harper initiated the phase out of coal-fired electricity generation.
And good thing, if you were to take some time researching climate change.
https://canadians.org/analysis/harper-disappoints-coal-fired-power-plant-regulations/
lol – our prices were hijacked after klein gave away our energy grid to a cabal of price fixing hucksters…who, of course, all kicked back handsomely to the con party. i wonder how many former con party mlas got nice jobs lobbying for the rip-off electric/gas providers, or some cozy, quiet “jobs” in the industry.
btw – the basis of our greatest expense with regard to our energy bills are the sundry fixed fees, which are way above actual use fees. the further rub is that we are charged for the build out of the grid, thus paying for private cos growth and further gouging, while not having any ownership in return for the forced theft.
pardon me, but i think to date the brunt of projects involving hydrogen have proven to be bombs.