Alberta government tries to tackle sky-high utility costs with new legislation

Alberta is moving forward on tackling high utility costs by removing existing legislation and replacing it with Bill 18: the Utility Commodity Rebate Act.

The United Conservative government tabled the new bill Wednesday and plans for it to replace the Natural Gas Price Protection Act.

If passed, the government says the new legislation would enable electricity and natural gas rebates which would benefit around two million households and businesses.

“We all pay utility bills, many of us — myself included — own or have owned or manage business,” said Dale Nally, the associate minister of natural gas and electricity at a press conference Wednesday. “We all know how much electricity costs and gas costs can eat into the family budget and the bottom line especially over the past few months of high prices.

“Bill 18 aims to lighten the financial burden on families, farms, and small businesses have recently had to face.”

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The government says it plans to work with utility companies and have the rebates issued directly onto consumers’ bills this summer.

“We know increased costs are affecting the well-being of Albertans, and our government is taking real action,” Nally added.

“This legislation is necessary to deliver electricity and natural gas rebates to help nearly two million Albertans. We’re providing short-term relief while creating long-term improvements that will make the utility system more affordable down the line.”

Nally also took a shot at the previous NDP government, saying their policies helped create the environment for high utility prices.

“We see many of the previous government’s policies as directly increasing the cost of delivered utilities to consumers. The NDP broke the system and we’re going to fix it,” he said.

“Today is an important step in this journey.”

READ MORE: Alberta increasing utility bill prices challenged by NDP member

The electricity rebate would see $150 of relief provided to compensate families and businesses for this past winter.

The rebate would be issued in three equal installments over three months for people who used under 250 megawatt hours per year. The government expects around two million people to be eligible.

Alberta’s ‘Natural Gas Rebate Program’ would see people receiving compensation when the price of regulated natural gas rates exceeds $6.50 per gigajoule between Oct. 1, 2022 and Mar. 31, 2023.

Exact details about the rebate and its rollout were not announced.

The NDP responded to the bill later Wednesday.

“This is a brutal failure from the UCP and a demonstration of total incompetence,” said NDP Energy Critic Kathleen Ganley. “The UCP just can’t seem to get the job done for Albertans.

“This UCP government has no idea what they are doing when it comes to the utilities and it shows. They can’t be trusted to protect Albertans. As we wait for the UCP to get their act together, Alberta families are left paying record-high bills.”