Alberta’s Electricity System: A Balanced and Fair Playing Field for All Customers

The cost of transmission and distribution of electricity to customers has created disparity in pricing across Alberta. Extremely high power bills in some parts of the province are mainly driven by higher distribution charges.

In Alberta, electrical generation and retailing make up the de-regulated sectors of the market while transmission and distribution are government regulated sectors. Because electricity delivery is a fully regulated service, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) reviews and approves the rates to ensure they are fair and reasonable for Alberta customers. According to its mandate, the AUC considers and protects the social, economic and environmental interests of Alberta where competitive forces do not.

However, depending on where you live or operate a business in Alberta, there is disparity in these charges: residential, farm and commercial customers in rural and northern areas pay significantly higher electricity costs than those in more urban areas.

1. Working within the Alberta regulatory framework, create a tax incentive for utility distribution companies operating outside of Alberta’s two metropolitan areas with the mandate to pass the savings along to customers through reduced distribution delivery rates.