Council members attend a public meeting Monday evening at city hall.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
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Councillors on Monday approved changes to the city’s electric utility bylaw that will include “comprehensive adjustments” to reflect changes in operational practices and better align with current codes.
Manager of electric operations, Jeff Sandford, presented the changes to the bylaw during a presentation that highlighted the update and discussed the regulatory framework.
“This amending bylaw incorporates all previous revision made to date (13 in total) and introduces new definitions, adopts gender neutral language and reformats the content for better clarity,” said Sandford. “It also updates references to current codes and regulations to align with operational practices.”
According to Sandford’s presentation, the changes include added and updated definitions and improved readability through restructuring content.
To stay in line with current corporate codes of practice the amended bylaw requires the inclusion of ground distributors obligations and expanded utility access requirements to align with the Alberta Electrical Utility Code.
“The term operator of utility system is used throughout in the place of electric utility or supply authority to align with current terminology specified in the code,” explained Sandford. “And the point of supply definition has been updated to align with the operational requirements outlined in the customer connection guide.”
The amended bylaw also introduces a ‘future-proofing’ of the city’s net to grid generation pending further provincial regulation development.
“These enhancements are designed to not only improve our clarity and ease of understanding but also to delineate more clearly the responsibilities incumbent upon the utility provider and the expectations placed on the customer,” said Sandford.
