Don’t you just love opening your monthly electricity bills from ENMAX, EPCOR, or Direct Energy? Of course not; how could you possibly enjoy being overcharged as a consumer on the Regulated Rate Option (RRO) or paying ATCO’s inflated delivery fees?
It’s time to dump your RRO provider. Why? The “Big 3” increased their RRO prices during the last couple of months on average between 11 to 13%. Prices in July are now back up above 12 cents per kWh. As energy costs increased on July 1st, Mayor Gondek and her city counsellors also increased the municipal fee (LAF) charged to the residents of Calgary. What’s more, RRO consumers with Direct Energy are paying double the cost for administration fees compared to the service fees charged by other retailers.
We hear it daily from consumers who are angry about the high cost of their electricity bills and extra hidden admin fees that they don’t understand. Over the years, political leaders from both parties were aware of the jobs being shipped out of the country by ATCO and Direct Energy, hidden fees, high delivery charges, price volatility, and red tape that needed to be cut but were unsuccessful, unprepared, or simply ignorant of the issues to tackle the problems. And, for consumers in the ATCO territory, the regulated delivery fees on your bill are the highest in the province. Guess who is now a director of ATCO, none other than our former Premier, Jason Kenney. They all tried to mask the fundamental issues with blinders, Band-Aids, and subsidies.
When Nathan Neudorf, Minister of Affordability and Utilities, first took office, we pointed out some of these problems. He’s listening, and changes are on the horizon.
Minister Neudorf faces a significant challenge as he restructures the energy market. On July 1st, the government capped the big generators to end the practice of economic withholding and limit their profits. The new regulation is designed to help reduce some of the volatility in the supply to the market.
Moreover, municipalities like Calgary can no longer overcharge and make windfall profits by inflating their wires’ access fees using a variable formula. In short, the Local Access Fee cannot include a portion tied to ENMAX’s monthly RRO prices. By December 4th, municipalities must file their proposed franchise agreements for approval by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC). We congratulate the Minister for listening and taking a common-sense approach to reducing energy rates. And yet, there is still more to do.
Next on the horizon, the government is changing the Regulated Rate Option (RRO) to Rate of Last Resort (ROLR), which will come with its own set of additional fees.
While the energy cost charged by the generators has stabilized and dropped over the last few months, the RRO charged by the big three utilities rose from May to June and July. Don’t wait for the government to solve this problem.
So, what can you do? The answer’s simple: switch to an independent local Community Retailer that offers lower stable rates and hasn’t shipped jobs out of the country!
Our competitive electricity rates have been lower than the RRO for the past 79 consecutive months, saving consumers thousands of dollars over the years.
Check out https://newgen-energy.ca. What you see is what you get – no hidden fees – just lower prices.