The Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre will be hosting its 8th Annual Workshop on the Economics of Electricity Policy and Markets on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 in Toronto. The workshop brings together prominent scholars, practitioners and industry to share ideas and research on contemporary issues related to electricity policy, regulation and electricity markets with the goal of:
- Building a community of academics and practitioners who are active in electricity policy;
- Expanding the network of researchers in Canada with an interest in electricity markets and electricity polices and regulation; and,
- Fostering academic research that contributes to effective electricity policies and electricity market design.
Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Time: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Location: Ivey Donald K. Johnson Centre, 130 King St W, Toronto
Workshop Theme: Electricity Market Redesign: Timely change or lagged evolution?
After more than 20 years, Alberta and Ontario are set to make significant changes to their original wholesale market designs. The planned changes should better align the provinces with the standard design features already deployed in the United States’ restructured markets. Nova Scotia is proposing legislative amendments that would see the creation of an independent system operator and independent energy regulator, and a market restructuring to enable transparent competition for new generation. Nova Scotia also intends to introduce time-varying electricity rates like those in place in Ontario and Quebec. Concurrently, federal and provincial net-zero emission targets and global advances in consumer and producer energy technologies, foreshadow significant change to the future operations of bulk and distributive electrical grids. This workshop will explore the evolution of electricity market design in the face of net-zero polices and technological change, with a focus on Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Ontario.
The Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre gratefully acknowledges continued financial support from the Ivey Energy Consortium and Ted Kernaghan, HBA '65; as well as the following organizations for their financial support of this particular event: The Alberta Electric System Operator, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, The Canadian Association for Energy Economics, The Independent Electricity Systems Operator, Alberta’s Market Surveillance Administrator, and London Economics.
REGISTRATION CLOSED
Current Agenda:
| Time | Function | Speaker |
| 7:45 a.m. | Registration Opens | |
| 8:00 a.m. | Continental Breakfast | |
| 8:45 a.m. | Introductory Remarks | Brian Rivard, Ivey Business School at Western University |
| 9:00 a.m. | Session 1: Redesigning Markets to Inform and Attract Investment |
Moderator: Brian Rivard, Ivey Business School at Western University Speakers: Peter Cramton, University of Maryland Darren Matsugu, IESO Vittoria Bellissimo, Canadian Renewable Energy Association |
| 10:30 a.m. | Morning Refreshments | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Session 2: Wholesale and Retail Market Design Coordination |
Moderator: Speakers: Steven Puller, Texas A&M University Andrew Wilkins, MSA Karynne Munroe, Nova Scotia Power |
| 12:30 p.m. | Lunch | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Keynote Address | Speaker: Dr. Ashley Langer, University of Arizona |
| 2:00 p.m. | Session 3: Transmission Policy |
Moderator: Reena Goyal, Blake, Cassels, & Graydon LLP Speakers: Johannes Pfeifenberger, The Brattle Group AJ Goulding, London Economics Dale Friesen, ATCO |
| 3:30 p.m. | Afternoon Refreshments | |
| 3:45 p.m. | Session 4: Ancillary Services in Decarbonized Wholesale Markets |
Moderator: Speakers: Jesse Bunchsbaum, University of Chicago's Energy & Environment Lab Amelia Blanke, California Independent System Operator Sam Tegel, ElectronX |
| 5:15 p.m. | Closing Remarks | Brandon Schaufele, Ivey Business School at Western University |
| 6:00 p.m. | Cocktail reception and dinner at Leña Restaurante | Keynote Remarks from Peter Gregg, President & CEO of Nova Scotia Power |
Moderators and Speakers:
|
Vittoria Bellissimo |
Vittoria Bellissimo is the President and CEO of CanREA, the voice of Canada’s wind energy, solar energy and energy storage industry. She was previously the Executive Director of the Industrial Power Consumers Association of Alberta and worked in renewable energy procurement at both the Ontario Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Power Authority (now the IESO). Vittoria served on the Board of Emissions Reduction Alberta, as Vice Chair of Energy Efficiency Alberta, and was a founding Board member of Women+Power. She holds a M.Sc. in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh and is a licensed professional engineer (B.Sc. Queen’s University). Vittoria is based in Calgary. |
|
Jesse Buchsbaum |
Jesse Buchsbaum is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Energy & Environment Lab and an incoming fellow at Resources for the Future. Jesse completed his PhD at the University of California Berkeley's Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Prior to getting his PhD, Jesse studied economics and mathematics at the University of Michigan and worked as an economic policy associate at the Environmental Law & Policy Center. His research interests include energy and environmental economics, electricity markets, and retail rate design |
|
Peter Cramton |
Peter Cramton, an Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland and an International Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, is a leading researcher in market design. His research on auctions and market design, focusing on the design of complex markets, spans a wide range of industries, including electricity, finance, and communications, where he has introduced innovative market designs. Numerous governments have sought Cramton's counsel, and he has advised dozens of bidders in major auctions. He serves as an advisor and chief economist to several companies. From 2015-2021, he served as an independent director of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) board. He earned his BS in Engineering from Cornell University and his PhD in Business from Stanford University. |
|
AJ Goulding |
In his role as president of London Economics International LLC, AJ Goulding manages a growing international consulting firm focused on finance, economic, and strategic consulting to the energy and infrastructure industries. In addition to serving as a sector expert in electricity and gas markets, his responsibilities include project management, marketing, budget and financial control, and recruiting. AJ also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University, where he teaches a course on electricity market design and regulatory economics while also supervising graduate workshops. With over twenty-five years of experience in evolving electricity and natural gas markets, AJ’s diverse background enables him to work effectively in both emerging markets and OECD countries. In North America, AJ has been articulate in describing market relationships between wholesale power marketers, merchant plants, aggregators, and the existing investor-owned utilities. In emerging markets, AJ has considerable experience dealing with the challenges of mixed private and public ownership, difficulties in creating credit-worthy distribution and retail entities, and the realities of line losses, unreliable fuel deliveries, and politicized labor relations. AJ has extensive experience throughout Ontario, having worked with diverse clients such as the Ontario Energy Board, Ontario Power Authority, large Canadian hydropower generators, and wind project developers. |
|
Peter Gregg |
Peter Gregg is the President & CEO of Nova Scotia Power; a role he assumed in October 2020. In his role, Peter is focused on planning for Nova Scotia’s clean energy future while overseeing the delivery of safe, reliable electricity to customers across the province. Peter is an experienced leader in the Canadian energy sector. Prior to his role at NS Power, Peter most recently served as the President & CEO of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), where he oversaw the operation of Ontario’s bulk electricity system. He was also President and CEO of Enersource from 2014 to 2016, where he was integral in the merger of four of Ontario’s largest local distribution companies to create Alectra Inc., the second largest municipally owned utility in North America. Peter served as COO at Hydro One Networks, overseeing energy transmission and distribution across Ontario. Peter is currently the chair on the Board of Directors for Electricity Canada and a member of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council. Peter received a Master of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at University of Western Ontario and holds the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D (Certified Director) designation. |
|
Steve Kim |
Steven is responsible for the design, procurement and management of bespoke, out-of-market ancillary services to ensure reliable and affordable power for the Alberta Electric System Operator. He is also accountable in managing the long-term contracts from the Renewable Electricity Program and Fort McMurray West transmission project. Steven is experienced in negotiating and managing PPAs, consulting, power market modelling and asset and portfolio management in the power industry during his time with TransAlta, London Economics International LLC and Ontario Power Generation. |
|
Ashley Langer |
Ashley Langer uses frontier economic methods to evaluate the impact of environmental and energy policies. Professor Langer’s interest in environmental economics stems from an observation that—because individual choices have environmental repercussions—policies such as subsidies, regulations, and standards are often crucial for improving environmental outcomes. Building on this observation, her research evaluates how alternative policy approaches will change environmental outcomes by merging theoretical insights with econometric modelling that allows her to recover the drivers of individuals’ and firms’ behavior. Professor Langer studies fundamental forces that affect many industries (for instance, the role of dynamic incentives on policy design and enforcement), major industries with widespread environmental impact (for instance, the use of fossil fuels for electricity generation and transportation), and econometric approaches to solving research questions faced far beyond environmental economics (for instance, the measurement and implications of policy uncertainty). Professor Langer is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Arizona and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Before coming to the University of Arizona in 2012, Professor Langer worked at the University of Michigan and the Brookings Institution, and she earned degrees from the University of California-Berkeley and Northwestern University. |
|
Karynne Munroe |
Karynne Munroe is an energy and demand side management professional with over 14 years of experience in the industry. Currently, Karynne is the Manager of Regulatory Affairs at Nova Scotia Power. Working in the rates and costing projects, Karynne’s projects span areas such as time-varying pricing tariffs, customer renewables programs like Green Choice, and retail and wholesale markets. Prior to joining the utility in September 2022, she held several roles at EfficiencyOne (E1) – most recently in regulatory and program management. As a recent Sobey School of Business graduate, Karynne is passionate about economics, energy equity, and regulatory innovation. She is experienced in program development and implementation, regulatory affairs and strategy, as well as economic analysis, market research, and cost-benefit analysis. Karynne’s experience in the demand side management and utility sectors lends a holistic view of the energy landscape in Nova Scotia and the opportunities facing the province in the transition to a cleaner energy future. |
|
Brian Rivard |
Brian Rivard is an Adjunct Professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business, Western University and a member of the Market Surveillance Panel, an independent body that monitors, investigates and reports on activities and behaviour in Ontario’s electricity sector. His area of expertise and study is electricity market design and regulation. Brian has experience as an energy consultant, most recently as a Principal at Charles River Associates. He also worked as Director of Markets for the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). While working at the IESO, Brian was responsible for providing analysis of the impacts of changes to the IESO Market Rules, Market Design, government policies, and other industry initiatives. For almost 15 years at IESO, he helped support the development of market-based approaches to managing Ontario’s electricity system needs. In addition, Brian spent six years as a senior economist with the Canadian Competition Bureau. He has written articles for various publications such as the Energy Journal, Canadian Competition Record, Antitrust Law Journal, and the Journal of Economic Theory as well as chapters included in Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-Based Economy, Payments Systems in the Global Economy: Risks and Opportunities, and The Guide to Energy Market Manipulation. He has also provided expert testimony before the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Ontario Energy Board. He received his MA and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. |
|
Brandon Schaufele |
Brandon Schaufele is the Director of the Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre and an Associate Professor of Business, Economics, and Public Policy at the Ivey Business School. Prior to coming to Ivey, Brandon was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Ottawa, as well as Research Director of the university’s Institute of the Environment. Brandon’s areas of expertise are regulation and energy and environmental economics. He has published in range of leading academic journals including, among others: the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Canadian Journal of Economics, Journal of Regulatory Economics and Energy Economics. Brandon served as Research Director of a national environmental policy think-tank and was Chair of the Canadian Resource and Environmental Economics Association. He is currently Treasurer and an Officer of the Canadian Economics Association. Brandon has testified before provincial and federal governments, participated in hearings on major energy projects, consulted for a wide array of companies and law firms on a range of policy topics and is host of the podcast Ergs and Equilibrium. |
|
Andrew Wilkins |
As Director, Market Assessment, Andrew leads the MSA’s work conducting economic assessments of the structure, performance, and efficiency of Alberta’s electricity market. Before his current position, Andrew directed the MSA’s enforcement of ISO rules and Alberta Reliability Standards. He has previously held other leadership roles at the Alberta Electric System Operator and the MSA, as well as research roles at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and School of Public Policy. Andrew holds an M.A. in Economics, and since 2012, he has instructed a variety of economics courses at the University of Calgary. Andrew conducts economic research relating to energy and environmental economics, industrial organization, and public policy. |
