Alberta’s Government Continuing Efforts To Make Electricity, Utility Bills More Affordable

Alberta’s Parliamentary Secretary for Affordability and Utilities was on hand for the provincial government’s second announcement in less than a week to take action to make electricity more affordable.

In Edmonton on Monday, Chantelle de Jonge – who is also the MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore – stated that no one should have to choose between power and putting food on the table.

This week, the Government of Alberta introduced the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act.

Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities, Nathan Neudorf, says it will help make utility costs more affordable and predictable across the province by ending the use of variable rates on local access fees for electricity and natural gas service distribution. If passed, he adds, these legislative amendments will help deliver relief for many Albertans struggling under the burden of increasing costs they are seeing added to their utility bills.

Premier Danielle Smith says last week the Government of Alberta announced changes to the province’s default power rate and a change to its name to the ‘Rate of Last Resort’. According to Smith, they announced that the ‘Rate of Last Resort’ will be set every two years for each provider so that customers have far fewer price spikes, and far more certainty about the cost that they will have to pay. She says they also announced that providers will be required to inform customers exactly what rate they are on, and to advise them that they can leave for a competitive rate any time they choose. Based on numbers from the market surveillance administrator, she points out that they estimate that policy would result in about $792 dollars in savings per year for a family.

More details are available online at alberta.ca.