ENMAX
Encyclopedia
ENMAX Corporation is a vertically integrated utility that provides electricity, natural gas, renewable energy and value-added services to its customers.
, Alberta
, Canada
. ENMAX, through subsidiaries and predecessors, has provided its customers with electricity for over 100 years. ENMAX’s core operations include electricity generation, transmission and distribution and the sale of electricity, natural gas and renewable energy products to residential and commercial customers in Alberta. ENMAX Energy is the largest energy retailer in Alberta with nearly 660,000 (1) customer sites including residential, small business, commercial, industrial and institutional.
(PPAs), ownership of generation facilities, and the Alberta electricity market. Natural gas is supplied by purchases in the Alberta natural gas market.
ENMAX Energy is the PPA owner for both the 766 megawatt (MW) (4) Keephills coal generation facility and the 663 MW (5) Battle River coal generation facility located in central Alberta. As coal-fired units retire, ENMAX Energy’s strategy is to replace this generation with natural gas-fired or renewable energy sources.
Part of this natural gas-fired strategy includes locating generation facilities close to energy consumer centres to reduce electricity loss through power lines and to direct waste heat to office or institutional buildings. ENMAX uses its natural gas-fired plants to supply electricity during peak electricity hours.
ENMAX Energy’s owned generation includes 100 per cent ownership of the 80 MW Taber and 63 MW Kettles Hill wind farms and a 50 per cent interest in the 75 MW McBride Lake wind farm, all located in southern Alberta. The farms total 218 MW of owned or controlled wind generation.
The Taber wind farm was built in 2007 and, with 37 turbines, is currently Alberta’s largest wind farm. Through these investments, ENMAX Energy has been able to offer customers the option to support wind generated energy. (6)
ENMAX Energy has a 100 per cent interest in the Calgary Energy Centre, (7) a 300 MW natural gas-fired generation facility in north Calgary, Alberta. In 2009, ENMAX commissioned the Crossfield Energy Centre, a natural gas-fired peaking facility with capacity to generate 120 MW located near Crossfield, Alberta. In 2010, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) conditionally approved ENMAX’s application to build the Shepard Energy Centre to be located on the east side of Calgary, (8) Alberta. The proposed plant will be able to produce 800 MW to supply enough power for half of Calgary's current energy needs and its heat can be captured to produce even more electricity through a steam turbine.
ENMAX Energy has also proposed the Bonnybrook Energy Centre for the Canada Malting site at 3316 Bonnybrook Road in Calgary’s southeast. Bonnybrook is planned as a cogeneration, or combined heat and power facility, to generate electricity and use waste heat energy by-products. An application for approval for Bonnybrook was filed with the AUC in 2010.
In March 2010, ENMAX opened its Calgary Downtown District Energy Centre. The centre is Calgary’s first district energy thermal distribution system and the largest in Western Canada. The District Energy Centre can provide heating for up to 10000000 square feet (929,030.4 m²) of new and existing downtown buildings and is currently supplying energy to The City of Calgary Municipal Building. (9)
In 2010, ENMAX launched “Generate Choice”, the first home-based generation program in Alberta to allow homeowners to install solar panels or a wind turbine
at a subsidized rate on their property beginning in spring of 2011. Funding amounting to $14.5 million for Generate Choice was received from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation. Generate Choice information is on: www.generatechoice.ca, www.facebook.com/generatechoice and http://twitter.com/generatechoice. (10)
ENMAX Power’s regulated operations include the provision of electricity transmission, distribution and management services for the regulated rate option to customers in the Calgary area. Covering 1,089 square kilometres in Calgary and the surrounding area, ENMAX Power’s transmission system comprises 281 kilometres of primarily 138 kilovolt (kV) transmission wires that deliver bulk power to its distribution system through 36 substations. Transformers in the substations convert transmission level voltages to lower levels used to power residences and businesses within the city limits.
ENMAX Power links about 424,000 metered customer sites with approximately 7,500 kilometres of distribution lines that it owns, operates and maintains. ENMAX Power is among the leaders in industry for reliability performance. ENMAX Power was one of the first electrical companies in North America to implement distribution automation
which automatically switches distribution circuit faults to restore power to customers as quickly as possible. Since its inception in 2005, distributed automation has saved Calgary electricity customers more than 14.5 million minutes of outages. (11)
Formula-based ratemaking (FBR) falls under ENMAX Power’s regulated operations. FBR is a formula that provides an incentive-based approach to how ENMAX Power sets its rates by focusing on efficiency and productivity. The FBR formula benefits customers as efficiencies found in ENMAX Power translate into lower prices. The AUC approved ENMAX Power’s FBR plan for a seven-year term in 2009. It is the first formula of its kind in the Alberta electricity distribution and transmission industry. (12)
ENMAX Power’s non-regulated operations are varied. ENMAX Power manages business lines that are not regulated by the AUC. These include services provided by its subsidiary ENMAX Power Services Corporation (EPSC). EPSC provides engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services for overhead, underground and light rail transit (LRT) utility infrastructure, roadway lighting and signal and communication systems.
ENMAX Envision Inc., a subsidiary of ENMAX Corporation, provides commercial high-speed, high-availability data and internet services primarily in Calgary. ENMAX Envision owns and operates over 685 kilometres of fibre-optic network and directly connects over 400 commercial buildings. (14)
ENMAX Encompass Inc., a subsidiary of ENMAX Corporation, provides billing and customer care services to residential and small commercial customers. ENMAX Encompass is also contracted to perform customer service, water meter reading and billing services to The City of Calgary and other municipalities across the province.
ENMAX was awarded the Mayor’s Excellence Award for environmental stewardship in January 2009 for a Calgary Board of Education partnership that focused on environmental programs including waste reduction, renewable and alternative energy sources and energy conservation. (22) These programs led to the development of the ENMAX Gen E™ program which provides teachers with on-line tools to bring renewable energy technologies to life in the classroom.
ENMAX believes communities become better places to live, work and play when the people who reside in them are encouraged to participate in healthy, safe recreational and cultural activities that cultivate awareness of and respect for our shared environment. Youth, environment and safety are the areas ENMAX chooses to champion. As part of ENMAX's commitment to Imagine Canada they invest a minimum of 1% of pre-tax profits, on a three-year rolling average basis, in sponsorship, donations and community investments that support non-profits and registered charities. (23) Additional criteria that assist ENMAX in working toward a higher standard in the management, valuation and performance measurement of their community investments is provided by the London Benchmarking Group (LBG) Canada. The LBG model classifies corporate community giving into three key "motivation" areas: Social Investments, Philanthropic Investments and Commercial Initiatives. According to LBG Canada criteria, in 2010, ENMAX contributed $2.8 million to the community.
Overview
ENMAX Corporation (ENMAX) is a vertically integrated utility headquartered in CalgaryCalgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. ENMAX, through subsidiaries and predecessors, has provided its customers with electricity for over 100 years. ENMAX’s core operations include electricity generation, transmission and distribution and the sale of electricity, natural gas and renewable energy products to residential and commercial customers in Alberta. ENMAX Energy is the largest energy retailer in Alberta with nearly 660,000 (1) customer sites including residential, small business, commercial, industrial and institutional.
History
In 1904, The City of Calgary built its own electric light plant. The City of Calgary Electric System (later to become ENMAX Corporation) began operating on December 2, 1905. (2) In 1996, City Council approved a proposal to make The City of Calgary Electric System a wholly owned subsidiary beginning on January 1, 1998. This subsidiary was called "ENMAX Corporation". An affiliated retailer, "ENMAX Energy", was incorporated on January 1, 1998. On January 1, 2001, ENMAX Energy entered the restructured, deregulated electric marketplace in Alberta. (3)ENMAX Energy Generation
ENMAX Energy’s electricity is supplied through a combination of long-term contracts, namely Power Purchase ArrangementsPower Purchase Agreement
Power Purchase Agreements are contracts between two parties, one who generates electricity for the purpose of sale and one who is looking to purchase electricity . There are various forms of Power Purchase Agreements; these are differentiated by the source of energy harnessed...
(PPAs), ownership of generation facilities, and the Alberta electricity market. Natural gas is supplied by purchases in the Alberta natural gas market.
ENMAX Energy is the PPA owner for both the 766 megawatt (MW) (4) Keephills coal generation facility and the 663 MW (5) Battle River coal generation facility located in central Alberta. As coal-fired units retire, ENMAX Energy’s strategy is to replace this generation with natural gas-fired or renewable energy sources.
Part of this natural gas-fired strategy includes locating generation facilities close to energy consumer centres to reduce electricity loss through power lines and to direct waste heat to office or institutional buildings. ENMAX uses its natural gas-fired plants to supply electricity during peak electricity hours.
ENMAX Energy’s owned generation includes 100 per cent ownership of the 80 MW Taber and 63 MW Kettles Hill wind farms and a 50 per cent interest in the 75 MW McBride Lake wind farm, all located in southern Alberta. The farms total 218 MW of owned or controlled wind generation.
The Taber wind farm was built in 2007 and, with 37 turbines, is currently Alberta’s largest wind farm. Through these investments, ENMAX Energy has been able to offer customers the option to support wind generated energy. (6)
ENMAX Energy has a 100 per cent interest in the Calgary Energy Centre, (7) a 300 MW natural gas-fired generation facility in north Calgary, Alberta. In 2009, ENMAX commissioned the Crossfield Energy Centre, a natural gas-fired peaking facility with capacity to generate 120 MW located near Crossfield, Alberta. In 2010, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) conditionally approved ENMAX’s application to build the Shepard Energy Centre to be located on the east side of Calgary, (8) Alberta. The proposed plant will be able to produce 800 MW to supply enough power for half of Calgary's current energy needs and its heat can be captured to produce even more electricity through a steam turbine.
ENMAX Energy has also proposed the Bonnybrook Energy Centre for the Canada Malting site at 3316 Bonnybrook Road in Calgary’s southeast. Bonnybrook is planned as a cogeneration, or combined heat and power facility, to generate electricity and use waste heat energy by-products. An application for approval for Bonnybrook was filed with the AUC in 2010.
In March 2010, ENMAX opened its Calgary Downtown District Energy Centre. The centre is Calgary’s first district energy thermal distribution system and the largest in Western Canada. The District Energy Centre can provide heating for up to 10000000 square feet (929,030.4 m²) of new and existing downtown buildings and is currently supplying energy to The City of Calgary Municipal Building. (9)
In 2010, ENMAX launched “Generate Choice”, the first home-based generation program in Alberta to allow homeowners to install solar panels or a wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
at a subsidized rate on their property beginning in spring of 2011. Funding amounting to $14.5 million for Generate Choice was received from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation. Generate Choice information is on: www.generatechoice.ca, www.facebook.com/generatechoice and http://twitter.com/generatechoice. (10)
ENMAX Power Regulated and Non-Regulated Operations
The ENMAX Power transmission and distribution services business line is made up of regulated and non-regulated operations.ENMAX Power’s regulated operations include the provision of electricity transmission, distribution and management services for the regulated rate option to customers in the Calgary area. Covering 1,089 square kilometres in Calgary and the surrounding area, ENMAX Power’s transmission system comprises 281 kilometres of primarily 138 kilovolt (kV) transmission wires that deliver bulk power to its distribution system through 36 substations. Transformers in the substations convert transmission level voltages to lower levels used to power residences and businesses within the city limits.
ENMAX Power links about 424,000 metered customer sites with approximately 7,500 kilometres of distribution lines that it owns, operates and maintains. ENMAX Power is among the leaders in industry for reliability performance. ENMAX Power was one of the first electrical companies in North America to implement distribution automation
Advanced Distribution Automation
Advanced Distribution Automation is a term coined by the IntelliGrid project in North America to describe the extension of intelligent control over electrical power grid functions to the distribution level and beyond. It is related to distribution automation that can be enabled via the smart grid...
which automatically switches distribution circuit faults to restore power to customers as quickly as possible. Since its inception in 2005, distributed automation has saved Calgary electricity customers more than 14.5 million minutes of outages. (11)
Formula-based ratemaking (FBR) falls under ENMAX Power’s regulated operations. FBR is a formula that provides an incentive-based approach to how ENMAX Power sets its rates by focusing on efficiency and productivity. The FBR formula benefits customers as efficiencies found in ENMAX Power translate into lower prices. The AUC approved ENMAX Power’s FBR plan for a seven-year term in 2009. It is the first formula of its kind in the Alberta electricity distribution and transmission industry. (12)
ENMAX Power’s non-regulated operations are varied. ENMAX Power manages business lines that are not regulated by the AUC. These include services provided by its subsidiary ENMAX Power Services Corporation (EPSC). EPSC provides engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services for overhead, underground and light rail transit (LRT) utility infrastructure, roadway lighting and signal and communication systems.
Additional ENMAX Subsidiaries
In addition to Wholesale Energy and Generation business lines, ENMAX Energy provides the EasyMax® option for residential and small business customers. EasyMax is an electricity and gas energy plan for residential and small business customers providing flexible rate options with no penalty for cancellation, supported by an Alberta-based customer care team. ENMAX Energy also provides electricity and natural gas contracts to commercial and industrial customers, and of the more than 40,000 industrial, commercial and institutional business sites, the majority of electricity consumed by ENMAX’s large customers is outside of Calgary. (13) Additionally, specialized billing and data management solutions to industrial customers, primarily in the oil and gas sector, are offered through the ENMAX subsidiary, Valeo Power Corporation.ENMAX Envision Inc., a subsidiary of ENMAX Corporation, provides commercial high-speed, high-availability data and internet services primarily in Calgary. ENMAX Envision owns and operates over 685 kilometres of fibre-optic network and directly connects over 400 commercial buildings. (14)
ENMAX Encompass Inc., a subsidiary of ENMAX Corporation, provides billing and customer care services to residential and small commercial customers. ENMAX Encompass is also contracted to perform customer service, water meter reading and billing services to The City of Calgary and other municipalities across the province.
Financial Performance
ENMAX is a wholly owned subsidiary of The City of Calgary. Since 2005, ENMAX has returned approximately $317 million to The City of Calgary with $50 million returned annually from 2005 to 2008, $55 million returned in 2009 and $61.8 million returned in 2010. Revenues increased from $1.3 billion in 2005 to $2.4 billion in 2009. (15) ENMAX’s return on equity increased from ten per cent in 2005 to 12.3 per cent in 2009. (16)Recognition and Community Involvement
In 2009 and 2010, ENMAX was named as one of Corporate Knight’s Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada. (18) ENMAX was also selected as one of Alberta’s Most Respected Corporations by Alberta Venture magazine in 2009 for efforts to promote alternative generation technologies and foster a culture of innovation. (19) ENMAX has been listed as one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers by Mediacorp annually since 2007 (20) and was recognized as one of Canada's 30 Greenest Employers by Mediacorp in April 2009. (21)ENMAX was awarded the Mayor’s Excellence Award for environmental stewardship in January 2009 for a Calgary Board of Education partnership that focused on environmental programs including waste reduction, renewable and alternative energy sources and energy conservation. (22) These programs led to the development of the ENMAX Gen E™ program which provides teachers with on-line tools to bring renewable energy technologies to life in the classroom.
ENMAX believes communities become better places to live, work and play when the people who reside in them are encouraged to participate in healthy, safe recreational and cultural activities that cultivate awareness of and respect for our shared environment. Youth, environment and safety are the areas ENMAX chooses to champion. As part of ENMAX's commitment to Imagine Canada they invest a minimum of 1% of pre-tax profits, on a three-year rolling average basis, in sponsorship, donations and community investments that support non-profits and registered charities. (23) Additional criteria that assist ENMAX in working toward a higher standard in the management, valuation and performance measurement of their community investments is provided by the London Benchmarking Group (LBG) Canada. The LBG model classifies corporate community giving into three key "motivation" areas: Social Investments, Philanthropic Investments and Commercial Initiatives. According to LBG Canada criteria, in 2010, ENMAX contributed $2.8 million to the community.