Utility error nets $357,000 losses

A $357,000 bombshell was dropped on city councillors at last week’s regular council meeting.

It came out in the council meeting that due to the development of new housing, there was a $357,000 discrepancy between what residents’ solid waste bills had covered, and what the contractor responsible for disposing of the waste required in payment.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bnw5tsf

Calmar to consult residents on possible organics pickup program

Calmar council has decided to defer a decision on establishing an organics recycling program in the town.

Council members voted at the Tuesday, Apr. 2 meeting to wait to establish such a program – which would collect organic waste, such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps – until they had a better idea of whether or not it would be supported and used by residents.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/d5t3kf2

Lacombe woman hit with $1,028 water bill

Brookes Wallace did not get the mid-winter blues and install and fill a swimming pool at the half-duplex she owns — but she is facing a water bill suggesting she did something of the sort.

The Lacombe resident could not believe her eyes a few weeks ago when her monthly water bill showed her owing $1,028, a 12-fold increase on the average charge of the residence where her two tenants live.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/cwymqpy

Councillors back away from potential revenue source

Would residents rather pay less in property taxes and more on their utility bills or maintain the status quo?

We’ll never know the answer as city councillors voted Monday to simply keep things the way they are without studying the issue of franchise fees further. Sitting as the standing committee on finance, councillors also had the option of hiking the franchise fees charged for natural gas and electricity or discussing a new policy to do so.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bbva7an

Transmission charges set to double, report warns

The cost of constructing transmission lines will more than double the transmission charges on residential electricity bills and could drive some commercial and industrial users out of the province, says a report prepared for the Alberta Utilities Commission.

The report by the industry experts on a transmission cost recovery subcommittee warns that transmission “wire” costs are forecast to increase from $14 per megawatt-hour in 2011 to about $32 by 2018.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/alr4m8v

 

Province moves to make power bills less volatile

EDMONTON — The Alberta government moved today to reduce the volatility of retail power prices and bolster consumer advocacy as Energy Minister Ken Hughes released a long overdue report on the province’s deregulated retail electricity market.

Hughes, who received a 391-page expert report called Power for the People last September, announced his government is lengthening the period over which electricity is purchased for Alberta consumers on the default rate.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/az5ec88