The Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets (CAEM) in Washington has branched out with a new affiliate, CAEM Canada, which has as its first major policy initiative, the Canadian Energy Restructuring Forum.

CAEM Canada will be the first think tank in Canada to focus exclusively on energy issues from a market-oriented perspective and the possibility of increased competition as a means to secure reliable, affordable and adequate supplies of electricity and gas for consumers.

The group noted Canada has already established itself as a leader in energy market issues, deregulating wellhead gas markets four years ahead of the United States. Also, Ontario led North America by giving retail gas customers a choice of supplier in the late 1980s. More recently, several Canadian provinces have embarked on reforming their electricity markets. In CAEM’s twice-a-year ranking of competition in retail electricity markets known as the Retail Energy Deregulation Index, Alberta recently led North America with a score of 68 out of 100 and Ontario ranked 16th of the 64 provinces, states and territories in the study.

Mike McLeod has been appointed president of CAEM Canada. He previously has served as a senior official at the Ontario Energy Board and the Canadian Association of Members of Public Utility Tribunals, the organization of federal, provincial and territorial energy regulators responsible for regulating gas and electric organizations.

Ken Malloy, CEO of CAEM, in a keynote address to the Canadian Energy Research Institute conference in Calgary, announced the Canadian Energy Restructuring Forum, a year-long effort to gather together the leading public and private sector organizations to discuss Canada’s energy future.

“The Restructuring Forum will produce a report that for the first time pulls all the facts about gas and electric markets in Canada together and begins to recommend a strategy to ensure that Canada does not suffer some of the dire consequences that have plagued California,” said McLeod.

Gerry Forrest, chairman of the Manitoba Public Utilities Board, said, “California demonstrates the risks involved in getting energy reform wrong. I believe that we need a more disciplined analysis of gas and electric market issues from a more comprehensive national perspective. I am happy to work with CAEM Canada to ensure that we establish the base of information needed to make coherent future planning and decisions.”

Roland Priddle, former chairman of the National Energy Board and a member of CAEM Canada’s Board of Directors, said, “CAEM Canada will play a significant role in developing the intellectual foundation and the action steps necessary to successfully complete implementation of energy market competition and lay the foundation for a more efficient, consumer-friendly and environmentally benign energy market.”

CAEM Canada’s office will be located in Toronto. Founded in 1999, CAEM is an independent, nonprofit think tank, whose mission is to promote an effective transition from the monopoly to the competitive model of regulation. The website is www.caem.org.

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