City: Answers, relief on power bills soon

By COLLIN GALLANT on February 4, 2022.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

Hatters can expect an in-depth explanation of utility fees soon, as well as some relief options before council to ease the sting of sky-high power and gas bills, a city committee heard on Thursday.

Utility commissioner Brad Maynes said a number of factors have caused bills to spike this winter – mainly colder weather and higher commodity prices – but said no changes have been made to how the city calculates its fees or rates that would inflate bills.

“We’ve been charging like this since about 2009,” he told the committee, promising an overview soon. “We can bring back options, and we’ve spoken with finance officials about potential relief.

“We know bills have been high for two months and February will be tough as well,” he added. “It’s a significant concern and we’ll expedite it to come back shortly.”

Councillors added the discussion item to the utility and infrastructure committee agenda after fielding a significant number of complaints this winter.

Record power prices, higher than forecast gas prices and higher demand for both are the main causes, said Maynes.

Letters to the editor and complaints to city hall have also centred on a raft of fees and charges that also make up bills.

Maynes stressed that “nothing has changed in fees, they are really no different from other bills across the province, with the exception being a lack (of local) provincial transmission fee.”

As a self-sufficient municipal provider, local customers are shielded from paying a share of grid reinforcement and maintenance costs.

Coun. Robert Dumanowski said billing complaints are a seeming constant during his time in office, but “it’s been a number of years and it needs a look.”

He said the bill appears as it does now, rather than single-line items before 2009, because the community wanted more information about how billed amounts broke down.

The Alberta Utilities Commission also changed requirements in hopes of improving consumer protections.

“The public asked us to be more transparent and we did that,” he said, adding that another misconception is, since the city has gas interests, it can set rates low.

“There’s still a feeling out there that we’re sitting on an endless pot of gas, but we’re at the mercy of the market.”

Maynes said 80 per cent of home gas supply comes from provincial spot market.

Much higher prices this winter are compounded by higher usage to send bills much higher.

High pressure gas from outside the city also supplies the city’s power plant, and that is reflected in local rates.

“We can’t just give it away because we have costs, and at fixed rate pricing, we’re not making a lot of money,” he said.

Mayor Linnsie Clark also said she supports reopening the fee setting issue, but there may be limited room to make changes.

“It’s a really tough time for a lot of people, and we recognize that, but we don’t want to rush into anything that won’t work in the long-term,” she said.

Committee chair Coun. Alison Van Dyke said setting utility charges is “very complex” but it should be better explained to those paying the bills.

Bills already include a basic explanation of charges for things like administrative fees, capacity and delivery charges.

Coun. Andy McGrogan said it is time for a refresher.

“I’d like to the community to see the thought process (in 2009 when formulas were created),” he said. “Let’s show people what’s going on with their bills, because it’s a mystery for me.”

Maynes told the committee that higher commodity prices are likely to modulate in the spring for gas through 2023, and power should fall as well from 10-year highs next year.

“It’s not just Medicine Hat, it’s being felt right across the province and country,” he said.