Alberta Power Market Snapshot: June 2026
Alberta’s power market has accelerated its trend toward unsustainably low average prices. Driven by an unprecedented number of zero-dollar hours - almost one in four hours - the market just set a new record for any single month since liberalization in 2001. The core takeaway remains exactly what we outlined in May: flexibility is becoming increasingly valuable. While we will explore the specific opportunities this creates for industrial loads in our upcoming Q3 case studies, let’s first look at what the data is telling us.
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The Data
As usual, let’s start with a high-level perspective. Looking at the monthly price heatmap, the frequent and lengthy periods of zero-dollar hours in black immediately stand out, as do the rare high-price events in purple:
Heat Map of June 2026 hourly Alberta power pool prices
Black: zero dollar hour - “Excess Supply”
Light Grey: CAD 0.01 - 20/MWh - “Insufficient”
Green: CAD 20.01 - 60/MWh - “Marginal”
Cyan: CAD 60.01 - 150/MWh - “Full-cycle”
Purple: CAD 150.01 - 800/MWh - “Expensive”
Red: CAD 800.01 - 999.99/MWh - “Peak”
The average monthly pool price came in at just CAD 17.36/MWh. At this level, no generation technology recovers its full cost. Even with AECO gas prices averaging under CAD 1.6/GJ, the pool price fails to cover the operating expenses of most gas-fired plants—underscoring the critical importance of dispatchability for power generators. This marks the third-lowest June average since at least 2005:
June average Alberta electricity pool prices, 2005-2026 (CAD/MWh)
Prices are not inflation-adjusted
Just as in May, these low averages were driven by a high concentration of prices hitting or nearing the zero-dollar floor. Consequently, the monthly average for the lowest-cost eight hours of each day set another record at just CAD 4.08/MWh:
Daily lowest-cost 8 hours, average for June, 2005-2026 (CAD/MWh)
Prices are not inflation-adjusted
But as noted at the outset, the real story—and the biggest record—lies in the surge of zero-dollar hours. They occurred 24.9% of the time, totaling 179 hours for the month. In other words, wholesale power was "free" for nearly one out of every four hours in June:
Monthly zero-dollar hours for June, 2005-2026
These low prices persisted despite a 3.4% increase in average monthly Alberta Internal Load (AIL) compared to June 2025:
Avg Alberta Internal Load (AIL) for June, 2005-2026 (MW)
Implications
The best cure for low prices is low prices—current market levels are unsustainable, and massive load growth is on the horizon. On top of what we outlined earlier this year, the AESO recently announced up to an additional 1,600 MW of “bridging capacity” for new data centers through its “Bring Your Own Generation” framework. Something’s gotta give, and as a result, we should see significantly higher average prices before the end of this decade.
The other key implication of this structurally transformed market is that flexibility is becoming exponentially more valuable. This translates into major opportunities for dispatchable generation, flexible loads, and storage—and mounting headwinds for those who lack flexibility or fail to use it. Ultimately, the industry has agency, and market participants can still determine their own destiny.
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Training: If you want to confidently navigate the major changes coming to the Alberta power market, our flagship Alberta Power Fundamentals training course returns on October 22nd. This program combines flexible online preparatory modules with a full day of practical, in-person instruction at the Petroleum Club. Seats are limited to ensure a collaborative, peer-to-peer learning environment. Capacity is limited and we expect to sell out early again; early-bird registration is available until the end of Stampede.
Finally, if you have any questions or would like to discuss implications for your company, please do not hesitate to reach out, we look forward to speaking with you!