Ron Noel, who manages a local condominium association, speaks at Medicine Hat city council meeting on Monday evening. He and other condo owners are seeking relief to tackle the rising costs of electricity.--NEWS PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Some form of relief from high utility bills may be back on the table this fall, city council members heard Monday after representatives for 2,000 city condo owners said rising bills are walloping their budgets.
Administrators said work is continuing on developing either “one-off” relief options or developing a more direct dividend to rate payers.
Ron Noel manages Fairway Village and represents more than a dozen buildings and 2,000 unit-owning members stating, “The citizens of Medicine Hat need relief now.”
“Our members are deeply concerned with the high cost of energy, specifically to condominium and members of other multi-family residents who are not eligible for provincial rebates,” Noel told council members during a presentation.
This summer a six-month fixed-rate offering in Medicine Hat put out at the end of 2022 expired and a new rate offered in July was about double the special offering, leading to a doubling of the energy use charge on bills.
One on his member condos complexes saw an 138 per cent increase in energy costs owing to the rate change. That translated to an $8,000 increase that will be spread out over the number of units in the building and paid through condo fees.
He said the rate setting in the city need not follow the provincial market, and council has the ability to determine other relief.
“They can charge any rate they choose,” he said, also calling on the city to “abolish the municipal consent and access fee.”
That was established locally to help address a municipal budget gap by charging property tax on energy infrastructure that is charged to customers.
Administrators said discussion earlier this summer in council resulted in additional dollars to a “fair entry” program, and staff is still studying the problem.
“Council has made this an extremely high priority and staff have been working on it,” said city manager Anne Mitchell. “I know there’s more to come.”
Mayor Linnsie Clark also said council understands that condo owners, as well as business owners and residents, are stretched financially with rising costs.
“Certainly there’s always options to bring forward for a specialized subsidy and making sure it meets the needs of the community while still protecting the city’s budget,” said Clark.
Last winter, condo owners across Alberta objected when a system of monthly credits on utility bills brought in by the province largely left them out.
That’s because complexes often have one utility connection and only one bill for hundreds of units.
Three years ago however, when the city distributed $136 to each utility bill as a COVID relief measure, condo associations were eventually extended on a per unit basis, said Noel.
Hold the compost
A pilot program to study the viability of food waste collection in Medicine Hat as well as a new 10-year general waste management plan has been referred to a council committee for analysis.
The report was to be presented to city council Monday, along with a decision to match a $500,000 grant to have 500 homes take part in the pilot next year.
The matter was referred back to the development and infrastructure committee, which oversees the city’s solid waste utility.
