Power de-regulation debacle?
Posted Jan 7, 2012 7:58 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
More than a decade after the Alberta government moved to de-regulate the power market, most Albertans are paying a record price for electricity this month.
When the Klein government made the move to de-regulate the industry, it was supposed to eventually mean competition in the market place and lower electricity prices.
Instead the price for the Regulated Rate Option, the fluctuating price for power, is almost 100 per cent higher this month than it was a year ago. Consumers using the regulated rate option are paying 15 cents per kilowatt hour for their electricity this month.
The Calgary Herald reports that Albertans haven’t embraced the option of signing contracts for power, with more than 70 per cent of consumers using the regulated rate option instead. That’s despite the fact there are now 12 retailers in the marketplace offering 19 different options to consumers.
The recent spike in power prices is being driven by supply problems.
