Challenges, Successes and Opportunities
Meeting the demand for electricity and energy in Canada's only deregulated electricity market, as well as one of our country's fastest growing economies, is a big challenge. We've had to compete aggressively for residential, commercial and industrial customers and in so doing, have become Alberta’s leading utility and energy services company in terms of revenue generated and metered customer locations served. We also compete aggressively for employees in what is a very tight labour market and have attracted a highly capable, customer-focused team.
Moving forward, it is clear that companies like ENMAX, who are in the business of providing electricity and energy, will have to confront the regulatory uncertainties and increasing costs associated with a carbon-constrained future. While we are currently Alberta's largest producer of wind power, and have a growing renewable energy portfolio, the power we generate or purchase for customers today is dominated by fossil fuels. ENMAX is faced with the challenge of how to change our generation mix, significantly reduce our emissions, and find ways to deal with the costs of carbon, without unduly penalizing our customers.
Despite the magnitude of these hurdles, ENMAX is confident that by thinking strategically, and embracing change, we can successfully address the greenhouse gas emission challenge with emerging technologies, new, cleaner gas-fired generation and an ongoing commitment to reduce our environmental footprint.
Reducing our own environmental footprint is but one contribution. We believe we can also do a great deal to help our customers reduce their own environmental impacts. We see 
technologies like smart metering on the imminent horizon, which will pave the way for a future of home area networks with smart appliances and the Internet. This enabling advance, with its two-way measurement capability, means that technology such as solar panels, home-based electricity generators or micro wind turbines will be able to offset a resident's electricity consumption and send excess power back to the grid. Providing residential, commercial and industrial customers with power generating and energy saving technologies like these simply makes sense and we believe we are the company to bring this new thinking, and better choices, to Albertans.
We're also making excellent progress when it comes to reconfiguring our generation mix, in favour of less carbon-intensive generation. Early in 2008, ENMAX Energy announced that we are proceeding with our proposals to build approximately 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity generating capacity in and around the City of Calgary. Chief among these is a 1,000 MW facility that will provide enough electricity for about two thirds of Calgary's requirements, while using the best available natural gas technology, resulting in less than half the CO2 per MW than current coal plants.
Our vision is that our customers will have access to state-of-the-art, environmentally sensitive generation across the province that will optimize existing infrastructure. Plants like this will become the template for future plants in Alberta because they are cleaner and can be located closer to customers.