I spy with my PC eye something that is...
Alberta’s power is generated in plants that Albertans built and paid for during 50 years of market regulation.
The Klein-Stelmach government threw that away when they sold at least $4 billion worth of generation at the Alberta Power Auction in August 2000 for an unethical and corrupt amount of $1.1 billion.
Albertans lost billions of dollars because of Klein-Stelmach deregulation policies. More recently, Premier Stelmach’s government broke the law and hired spies to watch over farmers and landowners opposed to a proposed new power line.
Next up on the government’s agenda is Bill 46, the Alberta Utilities Commission Act (AUC). This bill gives the proposed AUC the power to make decisions WITHOUT public notice and to prevent landowners from making verbal representations.
Bill 46 erodes the right of Albertans to participate in Utility Board hearings.
This bill, coupled with the EUB spying scandal, is irrefutable evidence the PC government is out of control, doesn‘t have the interests of Albertans at heart, and is no longer fit to govern.
Why Alberta Liberal policy gets a better grade:
Electricity is an essential part of our lives at home, at work, and at play. Aside from heat and water, there is no other service as fundamentally tied to our quality of life and economic health.
Before deregulation, Albertans enjoyed some of the lowest electricity rates in the world. Today, our rates are among the highest in Canada.
In six years, deregulation has added $13.8 billion dollars extra to the cost of generating power in this province - not including transmission, distribution, and billing costs.
The Alberta Liberals believe that government has a role to play in regulating essential services like electricity, where market forces are insufficient to protect consumers from price instability.
We will move Alberta forward by restoring affordable, stable electricity rates for homeowners and businesses, and return common sense and order to Albertans’ monthly power bills.
Solutions: Read more...
