Grande Prairie City Council presented a resolution on electricity distribution and transmission rates which was seconded by the Town of Drumheller at the Alberta Municipalities conference last week.
The resolution asked members to collectively lobby the Province to eliminate the disparity in electricity pricing for transmission and distribution charges across the province. The resolution passed with 88% of members supporting it.
“One of the number one concerns Council has been hearing about is the escalating costs of electricity distribution and transmission rates” says Mayor Jackie Clayton, “We are pleased that the vast majority of Alberta municipalities agreed with us that there needs to be a major change to how these rates are distributed across the province. We welcome their support in our advocacy efforts.”
As a result of the vote, Alberta Municipalities will actively lobby the provincial government for changes to the electricity distribution and transmission system.
Background
Alberta Municipalities represents over 350 municipalities in the province who make up over 85% of Alberta’s population.
Alberta’s electricity transmission and distribution system is facilitated through various service areas who are administered by different companies. Transmission and distribution costs are isolated to each service area and residents and businesses pay the costs attributed to their area.
This system has created a disparity in costs between the service areas. Large geographical areas who have less residents per km of power line pay significantly more for transmission and distribution than urban areas with denser development. This has led to significant disparities in electricity delivery prices across the province.
The ATCO service area that Grande Prairie is in sees the highest delivery rates in the province with annual residential charges averaging $1,347 in 2021. This compares to an average of $548 in Edmonton/Calgary. Not only are Grande Prairie residents paying these rates on their utility bills, they are paying for them in their property taxes. In 2021, the City was charged $3.7 million in electricity transmission and distribution fees which made up about 75% of the City’s total electricity bill.
Provinces like British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have equalized electricity delivery rates across their provinces recognizing the interconnectedness of the system and the general benefit to all of having a connected system.