Electricity overcharge should be returned
For immediate release | November 09, 2011
Alberta’s NDP Opposition leader Brian Mason says Albertans should get their money back after they were overcharged for power by a system-gaming power company.
“TransAlta’s gaming of the power system raised prices for all Albertans. Yet the government is happy to charge them for only a fraction of the overcharging of consumers they caused. Albertans deserve to get the whole amount back that they were overcharged,” says Mason. “Thanks to deregulation, power consumers come last and power corporations come first. This agreement fails to protect Albertans from overpayment. TransAlta should pay back the full amount, as much as $5.5 million according to industry estimates.”
“Albertans depend on affordable electricity to make a living, heat their homes – the basics of life. Yet the PCs insistence on deregulation costs Albertans more. I believe a regulated market would give Albertans the low power prices they need by finding the lowest cost power and the cheapest way to transmit it.”