Canada and the US could imperil North American energy stability if they restrict cross-border electricity and gas supplies in a trade war, an industry watchdog warned.
Canada and the US have a “symbiotic relationship” for power supplies, with both nations importing electricity from each other to meet demand. Any move to restrict supplies could cause a “big problem” for both countries, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a regulatory body that monitors the reliability of the power systems in the two nations.
Jim Robb, NERC’s chief executive, told the Financial Times: “If some of the sabre-rattling around ‘turning off exports’ occurs, it could create a significant resource adequacy problem for the Canadian provinces that benefit from US exports as well the [US] states along the border that benefit from Canadian imports.”