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No projected increase to Electric Utility wire rates for Lethbridge residents in 2018

Nov 20, 2017 | 2:46 PM

LETHBRIDGE – January is often a time when things like insurance, gas or electricity rates go up, along with their multitude of associated fees.
 
But Lethbridge residents can count on at least one fee staying right where it is or even decreasing slightly: the Electrical Utility wire rates.
 
What’s that? Basically it’s the portion the City of Lethbridge charges for anyone – residential, commercial and industrial customers – to use the wires that deliver the energy to you.
 
Electric Utility Manager Stewart Purkis says not only will those fees not increase, but in some cases, they may actually decrease a few percent.
 
“Over the last few years, we’ve been actually in a position of over-collecting on our Transmission Access portion of our bill, and therefore we’re at a juncture where we can give that money back to our customers.
 
“We’re confident we will not need that money to meet requirments moving forward, and that allows us to give that money back, which allows us to keep rates at zero or less for people moving forward into 2018.”
 
The Transmission Access rate amounts to about a 20 per cent decrease, and applies across the board.
 
Local Access Fees (LAF) are also going from 18 per cent of the total bill, to 16.5 per cent of the total. In previous years, that rate was nearly twice as high.
 
“So historically that fee has been quite high. In the 30 per cent range in the last five to 10 years ago, and it’s now been reduced,” says Purkis.
 
City Council will give First reading to the Electric Distribution Tariff Bylaw 6091 at its next meeting, and Second and Third readings Dec. 11.
 
If it passes, the new Electric Utility rates will be effective Jan. 1, 2018.

For more information, go to http://www.lethbridge.ca