Heat, power could be shut off on Friday for Alberta households behind on utility bills

The weight of mounting utility bills could come down on Albertans after April 15 as energy companies are no longer bound by a moratorium on shutting off power.

Anti-poverty advocates are calling for the province to provide immediate relief but energy providers and government officials say it’s up to customers to reach out directly in case of bill payment problems.

A frigid winter, chilly April weather and spiking natural gas prices have resulted in massive utility bills for many Albetans.

The executive director for Vibrant Communities says some households are making sacrifices to tackle expenses.

"We've also heard of people who are keeping their heat between 13 and 17 degrees at home and wearing snow pants and winter jackets inside just to try to keep that cost somewhat manageable," said Meaghon Reid.

Reid says the issue requires urgent action.

"Between food gas, electricity and in some cases rising rent because people received CERB and had their rents recalibrated. This is an untenable situation and a lot of the relief that we see in terms of tax breaks and benefits is a day late and its a dollar short. We need relief immediately," she said.

The NDP opposition tried to extend the shutoff moratorium through to the next period – effectively April 2023 – but the attempt was defeated in the legislature.

Leader Rachel Notley told CTV News on Wednesday the current United Conservative Party government made a mistake by lifting the cap on rates.

"Since they failed to bring in an effective rebate program, families just can't keep up right now."

REBATE COMING, TIMELINE UNCONFIRMED

As part of the spring budget, the province intends to offer a $150 retroactive rebate for most families and small businesses on their energy bills from the winter, however no clear timeline has been provided.

An estimated $280 million would be distributed to one million homes, farms and businesses broken down by $50 monthly rebate for three months to cover the difficult winter.

The natural gas rebate for consumers would kick in if rates hit $6.50 per gigajoule next winter, however, Reid criticizes the plan saying the threshold is double projected rates for next year.

CUSTOMERS AFFECTED

CTV News reached out to a number of power providers in the province yet none would provide official numbers, but CTV News has learned 1,000 ENMAX customers are facing shutoff.

"We appreciate that some of our customers are going through challenging times and we're committed to working with our customers through that," said Jana Mosley, president of ENMAX Power on Monday.

The provider also said they are working with customers who are at risk of having their utilities disrupted.

"We also know that individual customer needs vary and always encourage our customers to contact our customer care team at 310-2010 for additional support," said Chinta Puxley, spokesperson for ENMAX.

ATCO also replied to CTV News via email and directed any concerned customers to the Utility Consumer Advocate, but shut off concerns are trending down.

The office of the associate minister for natural gas and electricity says in 2017-18, there were 3,486 utility disconnections reported to the UCA and in 2020-21, there were significantly fewer reported at 1,485.

Data related to disconnections is provided once a year in the fall, and does not predict an upward trend of potential for disconnections come April 15, said spokesperson Taylor Hides.

CITY ALSO CALLED TO ACT

One city councillor says the City of Calgary and province need to respond urgently because the grid expanded too much and now its too expensive, with customers now bearing the brunt.

"We created a system with the assumption of continued prosperity and when it didn't play out, it ends up making the economic challenges that we're already in even harder," said Courtney Walcott, Ward 8 councillor.

He later added, "municipal, provincial and federal governments have to make it so that people don't have to trade off to afford one thing and lose another. While the the cut offs might not affect a mass number of people, that's just the people that couldn't make those trade offs."