City council to consider up to $25M in utility relief for Hatters

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on September 2, 2023.

https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

City council will consider refunding almost $25 million in power profits to utility accounts on Tuesday as well as launching an interim power rate while a third-party review of local rates is completed.

That is according to an agenda package released late Friday for the Sept. 5 meeting – the date when council members called for options to address widespread unhappiness over rising bills this summer.

About $19.5 million from reserve accounts would be applied to residential bills and a total of $5.3 million to business accounts to offset higher bills when default and fixed rates rose to record levels in the last two months.

Council will debate the recommendations, which also include directing staff to design a “best in market” rate strategy and engage an outside consultant to evaluate rate methodology.

The move comes following a spring motion to launch a rate study later in the year and after financial statements indicated a $135-million dividend could be recorded at the power plant operations.

What about fees?

The News had planned to provide in this edition an in-depth feature detailing ancillary fees and charges that appear on utility bills as a public service during the current utility debate.

Instead, coverage in this edition is focusing on commodity rate setting and financial information from the city’s power plant.

The examination of seven charges beyond the energy usage charges, which appear to be the key concern of Hatters, will appear in a future edition this month.

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