The Ministry of Energy is a Cabinet-level agency of the government of the Canadian province of Alberta responsible for coordinating policy relating to the development of mineral and energy resources. It is also responsible for assessing and collecting non-renewable resource (NRR) royalties, freehold mineral taxes, rentals, and bonuses. The Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, which is fully integrated with the Department of Energy within the ministry, and fully funded by the Crown, accepts delivery of the Crown's royalty share of conventional crude oil and sells it at the current market value.
The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board regulated energy resource development, pipelines, transmission lines, and investor-owned electric, water, and natural gas utilities, as well as certain municipality-owned utilities. It reported to the Executive Council through the Ministry of Energy, although it operated and made its formal decisions independently and autonomously. On January 1, 2008 the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) was realigned into two separate regulatory bodies:
In 1984, the Alberta Department of Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), was a complex multi-divisional organization, with a permanent staff of 2, 605 and a budget of $499 million, that was responsible for the management of energy, mineral, forest and fish and wildlife resources as well as public (crown owned lands) which constituted 62% of Alberta's land base. ENR policy was based on the premise that with proper planning and management, land can support a variety of uses, such as, timber, recreation and wildlife. However few were ideally compatible creating a climate of competition and conflict.
In 1986 the Department of Energy and the Department of Forestry, Lands and Wildlife were created. The original resource agencies continued and interdepartmental planning took place under Resource Evaluation and Planning (REAP). The Resource Evaluation and Planning (REAP) division was created in 1976 to provide coordination and data gathering services.
In the 1980s REAP oversaw an integrative planning system using a team approach to decision-making. It was a challenging time of transition. More established agencies like the Alberta Forest Service supported preservation of traditional attitudes and behaviour and felt threatened. By the 1980s Alberta Forest Service had a strong authority system with a military style chain of command and system of ranks. Fish and Wildlife Division were more flexible and less formally structured. Public Lands were more bureaucratic and mechanistic.