TransAlta
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as | : TA : TAC |
| Industry | Electricity |
| Founded | 1911 |
| Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
|
Key people
|
Dawn Farrell (CEO), Ambassador Gordon D. Giffin (Board Chair) |
| Products | Natural Gas, Coal, Wind, Hydro, Geothermal |
| Revenue | $2.8 billion CAD (2010) |
| Total assets | $9 billion CAD (2010) |
|
Number of employees
|
2,400+ (2011) |
| Website | www.transalta.com |
TransAlta Corporation (formerly Calgary Power) is an electricity power generator and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. It is a privately owned corporation and its shares are traded publicly. It operates over 70 power plants in Canada, the United States and Australia. TransAlta operates geothermal, wind, hydro, natural gas and coal power generation facilities. The company has been recognized for its leadership on sustainability by the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, the FTSE4Good Index and the Jantzi Social Index. TransAlta is Canada's largest investor-owned renewable energy provider. TransAlta, on several occasions, illegally manipulated the energy market to drive up power prices.
In 1909, the company began the planning and construction of the Horseshoe Falls Hydro Plant in Seebe. Two years later, Calgary Power Company, Limited was born.
That first dam was built by a crew of about 200 with primitive tools, such as picks and wheelbarrows. It initially had a 10 MW capacity (13,500 horsepower). Its second dam was commissioned in 1913 at Kananaskis Falls and was built by close to 500 workers.
At the time, streetcars were responsible for a significant share of Calgary’s electrical load. Residential power was just being introduced, and many homes were lit for the first time with electrical lamps because of Calgary Power. Calgary Power's cheap power is credited with Canadian Pacific Railway's decision to locate its regional engine repair shop in Ogden, Calgary spurring Calgary's economic development.
Notable leaders from the company’s early years included W. Max Aitken, eventually Lord Beaverbrook, and R.B. Bennett, who went on to become Canada’s Prime Minister from 1930 to 1935.
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