Webinar Summary – Energy Corridors: Expanding Interprovincial Electricity Transmission and Trade

In our recent webinar, Philippe Dunsky was joined by Mark Sidebottom (Chief Clean Energy Officer, Nova Scotia Power), Vittoria Bellissimo (President & CEO, CanREA) and Tim Eckel (formerly VP, SaskPower, now a Dunsky Affiliate Consultant) to discuss the growing momentum to increase interprovincial electricity transmission and trade.

Below is a short summary of some of the key points made during the webinar:

Where Are We Today
Canada’s electricity transmission system has historically prioritized north-south interconnections with the United States over east-west, interprovincial links. Today, more than 80% of electricity trade flows southward, driven by factors like demand concentration and price signals in U.S. markets. Meanwhile, transmission between Canadian provinces remains underdeveloped, despite clear technical and economic potential.

Momentum is shifting. One year after the Canada Electricity Advisory Council published recommendations to grow interprovincial electricity transmission, major interprovincial projects are being proposed or advanced across the country—from Quebec-Newfoundland and Nova Scotia–New Brunswick, to Quebec-Ontario and Manitoba-Nunavut, to Alberta-BC and BC-Yukon. What was once unthinkable is now under serious consideration, with Premiers, provincial utilities and system operators, and federal political leaders actively discussing the role of transmission in enabling a cleaner, more resilient grid.

What Is the Opportunity?
The panel emphasized that transmission is critical to unlocking clean, low-cost, and flexible power — and to managing rising demand. Key benefits include grid reliability and resilience, lower system costs through resource sharing and avoided redundancy, integration of renewables across regions to reduce curtailment and faster decarbonization by moving power from where it’s cleanest and lowest cost to where it’s most needed.

The panel cited examples of transmission projects including:

• A new Nova Scotia–New Brunswick line projected to deliver $1B+ in net value.
• U.S. and EU studies showing tens of billions of dollars in system benefits from regional integration.

In addition to building out new transmission lines, the panel emphasized that there are opportunities to optimize existing infrastructure — for example, by deploying grid-enhancing technologies such as dynamic line rating, which can improve the capacity, efficiency, reliability, or safety of current power lines.

It was noted that transmission also enables demand-side tools (like demand response and smart EV charging) to operate across provincial boundaries — expanding opportunities and leveraging time-zone differences to maximize flexibility and minimize build-out needs.

Where Do We Go from Here?

Despite growing momentum, Canada lacks a national planning framework, with each project starting from scratch. Panelists discussed potential near-term solutions:

• Voluntary regional planning platforms to identify least-cost options
• Defined frameworks for cost allocation across utilities
• Federal de-risking tools (e.g. capacity purchases, ITCs, others)
• Coordination to optimize labour and supply-chain needs
• Better use of existing infrastructure and bilateral agreements

The panel agreed that the current moment is a launchpad for Canada. With federal and provincial governments engaged and aligned, and with practical strategies, Canada can continue expanding interprovincial transmission for the economic and environmental benefit of all Canadians.

Featured Speakers

Mark Sidebottom

Chief Clean Energy Officer, Nova Scotia Power

Mark was appointed Chief Clean Energy Officer of Nova Scotia Power Inc. in 2022, after holding the Chief Operating Officer position since 2016. In 2021, Mark’s focus moved to leading the company’s decarbonization strategy, with a mandate to significantly reduce carbon emissions while integrating new technologies, innovations, and greener solutions to meet the energy needs of customers.

Mark is a past chair of the Board of Directors of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. He is a past treasurer and board member of Junior Achievement Nova Scotia, the Fossil Advisory Board, and the Silicon Island Advisory Board. Mark is also the former Chair of the Generation Council for the Canadian Electricity Association.

Vittoria Bellissimo

President and CEO, CanREA

Vittoria Bellissimo is President & CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA). Vittoria leads a member association focused on ensuring that wind energy, solar energy and energy storage play a central role in transforming Canada’s energy mix.

Vittoria 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.

Tim Eckel

Affiliate Consultant, Dunsky
Former VP, Energy Transition & Asset Management (SaskPower)

Tim Eckel is a senior advisor and consulting engineer focused on utility energy transitions and asset management. He has spent more than 40 years in the electricity industry, mostly with SaskPower, the provincial electric utility in Saskatchewan. While at SaskPower, Tim was a member of the executive team and served as Vice President, Energy Transition & Asset Management. Tim led the implementation of an asset management business model at SaskPower for the Generation, Transmission and Distribution divisions, including process and structure changes at the utility. Among other positions, he currently acts as an Affiliate Consultant, Electricity Sector, with Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors.

He was also responsible for the sustainment and long-term planning for the Generation, Transmission and Distribution systems at SaskPower, including the corporation’s plans for net-zero and grid modernization.

Philippe Dunsky

President and Founder, Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors

Philippe Dunsky brings 30 years of business and policy experience focused on a singular passion: helping clients accelerate and navigate the clean energy transition, effectively, responsibly and at scale. He has the honour of leading a first-rate team of 60 professionals, and the privilege of supporting clients among North America’s climate leaders. As a trusted adviser to both executives and policymakers, Philippe helps organizations chart the course toward decarbonization without losing sight of economic imperatives.

His experience spans the full array of solutions across both energy supply and demand (buildings, mobility and industry). His work is informed by three decades of experience assessing markets, designing policies and programs, conducting techno-economic studies, building regulatory frameworks and defining market strategies. He is regularly called as an expert witness at regulatory proceedings.