Albertans Facing Higher Gas Bills
EDMONTON, AB -- - Thousands of power consumers across Alberta could be facing much higher power bills in the coming months if they get their electricity from Atco Electric.
Atco has applied for rate riders that could sharply increase utility bills for 110-thousand residential and farm customers in northern and eastern Alberta.
The company will offer evidence to provincial regulators that it ended up paying more for power last year and early this year than what customers paid.
Energy Minister Murray Smith told the legislature in March that "there will be no rate riders in the future".
A spokesman for the minister says Smith won't comment on these new rate riders until the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board decides whether to approve them.
But New Democrat Brian Mason says this makes a mockery of Smith's promises of lower power rates under deregulation.
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UCP scraps electricity price cap, some will see $7 bill increase this month
EDMONTON - Electricity will be more expensive for some Edmontonians in December after the UCP government scrapped a program that capped rates.
Effective Nov. 30, the province got rid of the price cap program for Regulated Rate Option customers.
In 2017, the NDP government capped the kilowatt per hour price at 6.8 cents, meaning Edmontonians would pay the market rate and not more than the capped price.
In December, kWh will cost 7.5 cents. Typical Edmonton homes use an average of 600 kWh, increasing bills by $7.37, or 3.9 per cent, compared to November.
The NDP created the capacity system to bring price stability…
