Alberta Energy Regulator

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is an Alberta corporation, with its main office in Calgary, Alberta. The Alberta Energy Regulator's mandate under the Responsible Energy Development Act, passed on 10 December 2012 and proclaimed on 17 June 2013, is to provide safe, efficient, orderly, and environmentally responsible development of energy resources in the province. Under the REDA, the Progressive Conservatives established the AER in December 2012 to provide one-stop shop for regulatory approvals after industry complained about the delays and costs of red tape. The legislation combined duties of the Energy Resources Conservation Board with responsibilities of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development to create a single entity to administer the Public Lands Act, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the Water Act. The AER operates at arm’s length from the Government of Alberta, under an appointed board of directors headed by Chair Gerry Protti, a former president of the oil industry lobby Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and CEO Jim Ellis, appointed by Energy Minister Ken Hughes (politician). On 17 June 2013, all regulatory functions previously carried out by the Energy Resources Conservation Board were taken over by the Alberta Energy Regulator.

The Alberta Energy Regulator "regulates approximately 181,000 active wells, more than 50,000 oil and gas facilities, and 415,000 km (258,000 mi) of pipelines." The AER also "considers some 36,800 applications for energy development every year."

Energy regulation in Alberta has a 76-year history, evolving over time to meet changing technologies and public needs. Following its creation in 1938 with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Conservation Board, the regulatory body has consistently overseen energy development in the province. It has existed under several names throughout its history, including the Alberta Oil and Gas Conservation Board, the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, and the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board. The Alberta Energy Regulator builds off of this legacy, but it is, under the Responsible Energy Development Act, an entirely new organization with new regulatory functions and authority over energy-related applications and developments.

In December 2012, the Responsible Energy Development Act passed in the Alberta Legislature as part of the Regulatory Enhancement Project. The REDA made the Alberta Energy Regulator "responsible for all projects from application to reclamation," with "the authority to administer the Public Lands Act, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the Water Act, with regards to energy development." The Alberta Energy Regulator was phased in over nine months beginning in June 2013. In March 2014, the Alberta Energy Regulator became the single regulator for energy development in Alberta; it now enforces environmental laws and issues environmental and water permits for energy developments, which were formerly responsibilities of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development.

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