Calgary city council looking at possible change to electricity fee
Calgary city council unanimously approved a review of the current local access fee (LAF) that Calgarians see on their monthly electricity bill.
It's a fee that has grown significantly over the past few years because it is tied to the volatility of the regulated rate option (RRO).
"Costs on the regulated rate option a few years ago were averaging somewhere between $50 to $70 per megawatt hour," said Thomas Glenwright, senior director of utilities management at Energy Associates International.
"This year, for comparison, we're seeing the regulated rate option average between $170 to as much as $320 per megawatt hour last month. So LAF revenues have skyrocketed accordingly, and the LAF costs on customers have skyrocketed as well."
Glenwright says the decision to review the fee structure is long overdue.
"It's better late than never. It was welcome news, and the review can't come quick enough," he said.
The fee is charged for using public land for utility infrastructure instead of a form of property tax.
Calgary is the only municipality that ties the fee to the ever-fluctuating RRO, which means Calgarians are currently paying about 250 per cent more for the LAF than their neighbours to the north in Edmonton, where the access fee is a flat rate.
The average Calgarian will pay roughly $260 on local access fees this year, while Edmontonians will pay $80.
Moving away from the RRO for the LAF in Calgary could take up to two years to get through the Alberta Utilities Commission regulatory process, but some city council members hope to speed up that process.
"That is still a long way out, and I don't think that is something Calgarians would stomach well, so we need to work with our colleagues to expedite this process and explore and understand what those implications are," said Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner.
"Then we need to be having those conversations with Calgarians about what it means for them."
Other council members say they would like to keep the LAF on the RRO and use the excess revenue to provide rebates for those struggling to make ends meet.
"Only 20 per cent of our residential customers are on a regulated rate option, and those are the ones who are hurting the most, who potentially could benefit the most from this credit," said Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot.
"There's a lot of people that really don't need it, and I'm not sure that a blanket credit is the right method. Maybe we look to go to a means test to provide a credit to those people who are really struggling, which is another option that we have we do that on affordable transit passes. So maybe that's the best solution."
The original plan was for city administration to bring back possible changes to the LAF sometime next year for council approval, but there is a push to speed up that process and have a report ready before the end of 2023.
You can view the city's PowerPoint presentation on the impact of local access fees on affordability here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
The pros and cons of discussing mental health issues in the workplace
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.