One of the hot topics for the upcoming provincial election is the recent spike in power bills, which has affected both St. Paul residents and business owners alike.
From large car dealerships to small independent shops on Main Street, the increase in the amount business owners are paying for power is substantial and with the passing of a very mild winter, people are scratching their heads to determine why that is.
“It’s been increasing since about November and December,” said Alice Herperger regarding the power bills for her flower shop, The Jungle. Herperger is the president of the St. Paul and District Chamber of Commerce. “I did call some of the other small businesses and just asked them if they’ve noticed the same thing and they all said ‘yes’.”
“It has pretty much tripled since I moved in here a year ago,” she added. “I’ve gone from about $300 to seven or $800. There’s a huge amount of money going out every month now.”
What’s been puzzling for many is how the price for power has gone up despite the amount of usage. Herperger said nothing within her store has changed for it to require extra power and there is little she can do to cut back.
“It’s tough when you’re paying a lot of other bills as a business owner and still buying for the store. Then you have these power bills on top of it,” she said. “Unfortunately I have no other option but maybe to look at cutting staff or wherever to make up the difference.”
A.J Abbas, the general manager at St. Paul Dodge, said the power bills for the car dealership have spiked as well and there is not much choice but to pay them.
He also mentioned he will be paying close attention to the election to see how each party is addressing the issue.
For some other local businesses where power usage is high like Canadian Tire and Sobeys, the fixed rate contract both stores have signed with power companies precludes them from the high costs.
According to Paul Guitard, owner of Canadian Tire, a year and a half ago all Canadian Tire stores signed up with a third party management company that buys power in advance.
Although rates have increased, he said the price of power is nowhere near what other businesses have had to go through because they buy as a group.
It’s the same for the St. Paul Education Regional Division No. 1 (SPERD), said Secretary Treasurer Jean Champagne. SPERD belongs to a consortium with other schools that have a three-year fixed power rate contract.
To address the recent increases in the cost of power, Champagne said SPERD employs the services of consultants that advise the consortium in terms of purchasing new contracts. One of the alternatives the board is looking at is generating its own power through a wind project.
BluEarth Renewables Inc, a private company focused on commercial scale renewable energy development, is behind a new project that involves building a wind farm in the MD of Wainwright. The planned project will use up to 44 wind turbines that would generate 110 megawatts of electricity, which would be enough to power 50,000 homes, according to estimates. Champaign said SPERD is investigating this technology to bring long-term stability to future utility costs.
Electric election
As the date for the provincial election nears, local candidates have spoken about increasing power bills with all opposition parties agreeing Bill 50, which approved four new transmission lines, should be amended.
Both the Wildrose and Liberal parties feel the proposed $16.7 billion transmission lines that are paid for by the Province are being built to ship power down to the United States due to the sheer size of the build.
“We would make sure these lines are not paid for by Alberta ratepayers if they’re exported to the United States,” said local Wildrose candidate Shayne Saskiw. “If we continue down the path that the PCs are going, it’s going to double or triple people’s power bills.
“The Wildrose would look at doing a thorough review of the whole system to ensure that customers are not price gouged,” he added.
NDP candidate Phil Johnson said his party would make sure the power companies justify new rate increases, make them pay for the power lines and get rid of bills that allow transmission infrastructure to be made that taxpayers don’t need or want.
Incumbent PC MLA Ray Danyluk said the transmission lines are not being built to ship power down to the U.S. because the province is still in a deficit regarding power production and does not have power to export.
According to Danyluk, the expansion is in anticipation of the province’s rapidly growing economy and population.
“Look at where we were 25 years ago and look at where we are today in regards to business. Around 100,000 people a year move to this province,” Danyluk said.
“If there’s more businesses, there’s more power.
“You cannot have the same type of power distribution with the same type of line,” he continued. “We do not want to have blackouts. We don’t want to see the same thing that’s happened in the States. We need to have transmission lines that connect the province.”
Liberal candidate John Nowak pointed to a review conducted by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy in 2009, which said Bill 50 would result in a massive overbuild in the province’s transmission system and drive up rates.
The review, authored by Dr. Jeffrey Church and electrical engineer John MacCormic, was recently reassessed with both researchers agreeing the effects of Bill 50 will be greater than predicted.
To help local businesses deal with the volatility of the fluctuating market, Danyluk said Premier Alison Redford brought forward an independent committee last month to look at power delivery in general. Redford also froze distribution and transmission charges.
“People are concerned with power in general, but they’re more concerned about the volatility,” the PC candidate said. “They want to be able to budget. They want to be able to have set rates. That opportunity is there regarding having a contract.
“If you don’t have a contract, we’re looking at ways of minimizing that volatility as well and that’s what the committee was set up for.”
