Originally published Sept. 5, 2024 at The Narwhal. Read the full story here.

Staff at Alberta’s independent grid operator were concerned the provincial government wanted them to “lie” about the organization’s role in the decision to pause all new renewable energy projects last summer, according to internal correspondence obtained by The Narwhal. They refused.

The internal messages, obtained through a freedom of information request, were sent nearly two weeks after the government announced its seven-month moratorium last August and was facing intense media scrutiny, as well as backlash from industry, the investment community and environmental groups over the decision.

As the controversy built, a senior staffer with the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) noted the minister of affordability and utilities’ office had requested the organization help “beef up” the province’s communications strategy to say the decision to impose a moratorium was made after multiple meetings — a request that would bring them in line with government talking points. The same staffer said the request had also been made to the Alberta Utilities Commission, which regulates the electricity system. 

“Their position, as is ours, is we will not lie,” they wrote.

Those chats, sent via Microsoft Teams, followed weeks of pressure leading up to the announcement for the grid operator to support the government’s decision, including a request to sign a letter supporting the move, as was revealed in previous reporting from The Narwhal. 

When the government announced the moratorium on new renewable energy projects, it released two letters to justify the decision: one letter from the Alberta Electric System Operator and one from the Alberta Utilities Commission. The government claimed the letters asked for a pause, but they did not. 

Lisa Young, a political scientist at the University of Calgary who reviewed the documents obtained by The Narwhal, says the staff statement about refusing to “lie” is significant. 

“It jumped off the page at me, that there was the need to draw that line explicitly that the [Alberta Electric System Operator] would basically do as the government had asked in terms of the letter, but that it would not lie about what had happened,” she says.

“People in positions like that wouldn’t feel the need to say we are not going to lie, unless they perceived pressure in that direction.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NARWHAL.