'Disingenuous and misleading': Calgary mayor, province at odds over plan to lower utility bills
Calgary's mayor is sparring with the Government of Alberta over the rollout of new legislation meant to lower utility bills in Calgary.
On Monday, the province announced plans to amend the Municipal Government Act and ban cities from using variable rates to calculate local access fees on power bills.
Electricity customers are currently charged a local access fee, which is used to compensate a municipality for the use of its property to provide electricity services.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Calgary already has a plan to bring down local access fees, approved in March, with implementation expected in 2027.
She blamed the province for the long timeframe.
“Because of the complexity of having to change existing agreements and get an approval for new agreements that our utilities will probably have to spend about that much time to get the approvals from the Alberta Utilities Commission,” Gondek said Tuesday.
“If the minister would like to cut that red tape, he certainly can. We have no ability to do that.”
Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf said it is “disingenuous and misleading” for Gondek to blame the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUS) for the delay in changes to Calgary’s access fees.
“The AUC has confirmed to us that any future applications would take less than three months, not three years like the mayor suggests,” Neudorf said, in an emailed statement Wednesday.
“The Alberta Utilities Commission hasn’t received an application from the City of Calgary since 2017, which was fully processed in only two and a half months. The City of Calgary needs to take responsibility for this issue. As it has not done so, the province will.”
While the province offered an embargoed technical briefing on the legislation ahead of time, Gondek said city officials were unaware of changes until they were announced.
Speaking Wednesday, Gondek said it is news to her that the province is looking to expedite the application process, but she would be thrilled if those approvals could move forward faster.
“We’ve been told it will take a number of years. If it could take months as has been implicated, we’d be very happy to see that,” Gondek said.
“We had our experts weigh in on the amount of time it would take for our two utilities to move forward and ask for the requested changes. That’s the best information we had at that time.”
The mayor added that the city would “actively embrace” a new application model.
“However, we would need some certainties that the applications put forward by our utility providers would be through that expedited process,” she said.
What are local access fees?
Local access fees, which may not exceed 20 per cent of the distribution charge for electricity and 35 per cent of the distribution charge for natural gas, must be approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) and are regulated by the Municipal Government Act.
Edmonton and Calgary both have agreements with municipally owned subsidiaries, which exempts them from needing AUC approval.
Edmonton follows a consumption-based calculation for its fees, while Calgary bases theirs partially on market rates.
As a result, Calgary customers can see fees vary wildly, depending on the price of electricity or gas.
The government says Calgarians paid an average of $240 in local access fees in 2023 compared to the $75 paid by Edmontonians during the same period.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Karyn Mulcahy
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
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.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
'I feel honoured to say I was his friend': Wayne Gretzky remembers Bob Cole
Tributes continue to pour in for Bob Cole as his family has confirmed a funeral will be held for the legendary broadcaster Friday in St. John's, N.L.