Neudorf introduces bill to pump up hydrogen use
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on April 11, 2025.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
The Alberta government is introducing a bill that will remove barriers to blending hydrogen into the natural gas distribution system for residential and commercial customers.
Bill 52 – The Energy and Utilities Amendment Act, 2025, was introduced to the legislature on Thursday by Lethbridge East MLA and Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf.
If passed, the legislation will accomplish four things:
* Give hydrogen its own definition, distinct from natural gas;
* Require regulated utilities to obtain customer support for proposed hydrogen blending projects;
* Require that only ratepayers receiving hydrogen-blended natural gas pay for the infrastructure and commodity cost of hydrogen;
* and provide the Minister of Affordability and Utilities with regulation-making authority to enable hydrogen blending.
The province says Alberta is one of the largest hydrogen manufacturers in the world, producing about 2.4 million tonnes per year – the largest amount of any Canadian province.
The province believes the legislation has the potential to further increase the demand for hydrogen which it says will create an economic driver.
“If passed, Bill 52 makes amendments to the Gas Utilities Act and Gas Distribution Act which remove barriers to the blending of hydrogen into natural gas distribution systems while maintaining a strong commitment to safety for Albertans,” says the government.
The changes support new technologies while ensuring the reliability and safety of the province’s natural gas distribution system, the province says, noting that blending hydrogen with natural gas has the potential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of both residential and commercial heating.
Before the act can be enabled, regulations will be developed to clarify details of implementation.
The province expects hydrogen to be an $11 trillion global industry by 2050.
In a press conference, Neudorf said only customers who receive a hydrogen/natural gas blend will pay for additional system costs.
Neudorf said Albertans need to know they have reliable and affordable utilities for generations to come and hydrogen provides an opportunity to ensure that.
Bill 52 will also prioritize the strengthening of the electrical grid so weather won’t impact the ability of Albertans to have power. And an updated transmission policy, said Neudorf, will mean ratepayers will no longer be burdened with the full cost of new transmission lines.
Demand for electricity will continue to grow and there is a need to modernize Alberta’s electricity policies, he said.
The province, Neudorf said, is also proposing to move to a day-ahead reliability market to ensure enough power is available and reduce the risk of future grid alerts.
As part of the new bill, the government also seeks to increase the number of members on the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission to 13 from the current seven to “increase the range of expertise and allow for more robust governance. This will also increase support for new initiatives such as the bitumen royalty in-kind and a proposed gas royalty in-kind, ensuring Albertans receive the maximum value for our resources.”
21-20
No wonder Danielle is all for single-use plastics.
Require regulated utilities to obtain customer support for proposed hydrogen blending projects;
* Require that only ratepayers receiving hydrogen-blended natural gas pay for the infrastructure and commodity cost of hydrogen;
* and provide the Minister of Affordability and Utilities with regulation-making authority to enable hydrogen blending.
Going nowhere. Hydrogen is a dud. Ballard Power Systems of the 70’s comes to mind.
Maybe better to convert the natural gas plants back to coal a la 1963?
I am waiting for R&D to make hydrogen vehicles come on the market . . . that is ones that are feasible. They have a few hurtles they are trying to overcome, but once they do, using hydrogen for semi-trucks, pickup trucks and cars will be far better for the envionment.
Too many people are blindly listening to claims that EV’s are much greener and better for the environment, while not realizing that EV batteries alone vastly increase GHG’s and damage the environment because of all the necessary critical metals needed alone, some of those metals are: cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, manganese, and nickel.
Rare earth elements like neodymium, dysprosium, and praseodymium are needed for the magnets in EV motors.
All this mining is needed just for the batteries and motors and massive amounts of water are needed in several cases!
No one looks at this because all the billionaires invested in GREEN energy are just trying to make billions more in a new market . . . AND Canada is only emits 1.6% or the world GHG’s and can do very little to bring change globally . . . ever wonder why Canada is the one always be accused of being a major pollutor? It isn’t because we are . . . it is so others can control the market!
China emits over 34% of the world GHG’s and if you combine China, Russia and India’s emissions you see over 50% of the world GHG’s emitted by them and refuse to sign any reduction of emissions agreements . . . we are being duped and most blindly follow!
If Canada was able to cut emissions to the UN COP agreements for 2050 we may see our emissions down to 1% instead of the 1.6% we are currently at!
Many do not want you to see the percentage of world emissions by country, and try to confuse you with other stats to make it appear we are the one of the worst emitters! That in itself is a red flag!
We do need to look after our environment better in Canada, and I am for it, but we also need to keep our economy going or since the Liberals have doubled our National Debt in just a few years, a feat never ever seen in Canada, and we have pay it down. We pay $53 billion annually towards that debt and it will continue to increase . . . while the Liberals continue to spend spend spend to buy votes!