Alberta, Saskatchewan have relatively high GHG intensity due to their use of coal
Carbon emissions associated with residential electricity consumption occur upstream, during electricity generation, and are less directly visible than other sectors, such as transportation, according to the National Energy Board.
The electricity sector was responsible for approximately 11 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2015.
Residential consumption was associated with approximately 4 per cent of Canadian GHG emissions.
On a per capita basis, these emissions vary significantly by province and territory, ranging from a high of 3.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in Nova Scotia, to a low of 0.01 tonnes of CO2e in Quebec.
The Canadian per capita average was 0.72 tonnes of CO2e.
The main factors affecting a jurisdiction’s GHG emissions associated with residential electricity consumption are the extent to which it uses electricity for home heating (this can significantly increase electricity consumption per household), and the GHG intensity of electricity generation.
Jurisdictions that mostly use low-emission generation sources, such as hydroelectricity, nuclear, and non-hydro renewables, have less GHG-intensive consumption than jurisdictions that mostly use fossil fuel-based generation.
For example, despite having per capita electricity demand close to the Canadian average, Nova Scotia’s electricity sources (mostly coal and natural gas) are over four-times more GHG-intensive than the average.
This is ultimately why Nova Scotia has the highest per-capita GHG emissions associated with residential electricity consumption in Canada.
In contrast, the province of Quebec has high per-capita residential electricity demand (largely due to its widespread use of electric home heating) but has the lowest GHG intensity electricity consumption due to its heavy reliance on hydro power.
This combination resulted in Quebec also having the lowest per-capita GHG emissions associated with residential electricity consumption.
Prince Edward Island (PEI) and New Brunswick offer another interesting contrast. PEI imports most of its electricity from New Brunswick, so both have similar GHG intensities for electricity consumption.
However, PEI uses oil products for the majority of its home heating, whereas New Brunswick uses electricity.
The resulting difference in electricity usee per household makes PEI a much smaller per capita contributor of GHG emissions associated with residential electricity consumption.
Across Canada, there is great variation even among jurisdictions within the same region. The four east coast provinces cover a wide range of demand levels and GHG intensities.
On the Prairies, Alberta and Saskatchewan have relatively high GHG intensity of generation due to their use of coal, but Manitoba sits on the opposite side of the spectrum because of its reliance on hydro power.
Similarly, communities in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut rely mainly on diesel generators while the Yukon is supplied mostly by hydro power.