City Notebook: Residents expect a power play

By COLLIN GALLANT on May 7, 2022.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

It would be ironic, wouldn’t it, if during a steep increase in utility bills – and a torch and pitchfork campaign by angry ratepayers – the city utility actually wound up eating most of the rising cost of natural gas?

It’s a situation brewing as gas prices continue to rise beyond forecasts used to create an increasingly popular fixed rate for gas and power in the city.

Natural gas prices in Alberta (which also affect the power generation price) are now a few dollars above the 2022 fixed rate of $4.35 per gigajoule. A house uses 100 gigajoule per year. There are 25,000 accounts in Medicine Hat. That math gets to seven-digits pretty quickly, and could amount to millions of dollars in direct subsidies to consumers.

Administrators addressed the potential with the News this week, stating they are always working to maximize export power profits (prices are very high as well across Alberta), and would study fixed rate exposures (though seemed less than enthused to jigger with them mid-year).

A general overhaul of rates may not be ready until 2023, we also learned.

Also in the News

A couple “talker” stories this week:

A) Everyone was talking about how a plane with no pilot nicked the deck of a vacant house this week. It, obviously, led to a few questions. Witnesses say the hobby aircraft was in the process of getting started after the winter when it fired up and made its way from south of Desert Blume to a walkout house in Saamis Heights.

But, such a blasÃ© explanation left some folks wondering if instead, D.B. Cooper was somehow at work.

Anybody ever been working under the hood of a car, then leaned in the window to see if it cranks?

Sometimes the answer is boring, but we’ll wait for the report from Transport Canada investigators. That typically takes a few months.

B) Council’s consideration of repealing the 2004 skateboard bylaw drew about 100 spectators to council’s Monday meeting, but the issue is delayed until May 16.

Members of the Medicine Hat Skateboard Association say it’s time the law – which essentially bans boarding downtown – was repealed, and the rallying cry is that skateboarding is not a crime.

Built into the issue is a lot of grips about how Medicine Hat isn’t any fun, and when downtown is involved there’s always baggage, it seems.

So, over two weeks, council hopes to hear from business owners, but so far, they appear charmed by the Skateboard Association.

The group raised a lot of funds over 18 years to build dedicated skate parks in the city, and has also turned into organizational efforts to other charitable causes.

One must note however, not every skateboarder in Medicine Hat is a member, and the city can’t expect a community group to police behaviour.

Whether it’s time to loosen rules that bar it completely is a good question.

It’s basically not enforced now, or at least there aren’t many problems.

Downtown business owners and trail users likely want to know the answer to what happens if things get out of hand.

Under the radar

A big story that was under reported this week has to be the awarding of the contract to build the Spring Bank reservoir northwest of Calgary. It’s been long proposed as a way to knock the top off high water coming down into downtown Calgary (and by extension, Medicine Hat) since the 2013 flood. Don’t think a foot or two matters? Just ask the Eastern Irrigation District. They narrowly avoid a complete washout of the Bassano Dam that year by inches.

Provincial politics

Ballots in the United Conservative Party leadership review have to be in by Wednesday, May 11, with results and the fate of Premier Jason Kenney announced May 18.

Alberta’s hockey fans have been treated to political advertising, if not a lot of hometown goals this week, as the Alberta New Democrats have been buying commercial time at the 12-month mark out from the next election.

That’s the front runners, but there’s a lot of ground action happening.

No one is nominated locally yet, though UCP MLA Michaela Frey is likely a lock to seek a second term.

As reported in the News a while back, Alberta Party Leader Barry Morishita will become his party’s candidate in Brooks-Medicine Hat riding at a nomination meeting set for later this month.

Paul Hinman, leader of the Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta, will speak in Medicine Hat this weekend.

Hinman once sought the federal Conservative nomination for Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner, and lives in the western stretch, but it’s obvious the southeast is fertile ground for his messaging.

A look ahead

Council committees will talk pickleball and flood preparedness this week. (Who says we’re boring?)

Collin Gallant covers city politics and a variety of topics for the News. Reach him at 403-528-5664 or via email at cgallant@medicinehatnews.com