Urban living pays for the power in this province.

Alberta is ramping up for massive export of Electricity. You will be expected to pay for this in the most part by increased charges to your power bills for electricity and transmission, the latter being hooked to electricity cost.

What is not covered by you directly will be covered out of the general revenues of this province.

There is a generating plant planned for Brooks Alberta to serve Calgary and Southern Alberta. Now, there is a facility being built in Peace River to Service northern Alberta. In addition to this the companies in the oil sands build their own generation facilities and have in the past, exported their power to California.

The costs of the plant generation go into start up costs and are paid for by the tax payer.

Because of Alberta’s rules that all transmission lines are paid for equally by all Albertans, the cost of oil sands and up grader power lines (specific for their use) will be paid for in the urban utility bills.

The Conservatives have allowed the cost of electricity to be increased, having nothing to do with generation or transmission charges. This does however have a lot to do with increasing the cost of electricity so that the new plants can remain profitable and be in a position to export some of the 7000 megawatts of power the US is going to be short.

Over the next couple of years the Enmax and Epcor people will pocket unusually huge profits. This keeps the City of Edmonton happy. They like windfalls when they happen.

A week after this post:
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca