St. Albert NDP MLA Marie Renaud has some criticisms about the Alberta government's utility rebates, which the province has yet to roll out.
“This legislation and this announcement, just like the announcements from before the budget — after the budget, they just fall short of the assistance that families need,” she said.
On April 20, Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity Dale Nally tabled Bill 18, the Utility Commodity Rebate Act. If passed, the legislation would enable the introduction of a $150 electricity rebate and a natural gas rebate that would kick in if gas rates hit above $6.50 per gigajoule next winter.
The electricity rebate initially announced on March 7 would give Albertans a retroactive rebate on the high electricity costs experienced this past winter. Once enabled, the rebate would give Albertans a total of $150 spread over three months, however the timeline for the rebate is still up in the air.
Renaud said the United Conservative Party of Alberta has been delaying the process to get this rebate out.
“There is no commitment to a timeline or [that] for sure it will be this summer. There is no commitment to dates. [The NDP] tried to get some amendments to this legislation to tie the UCP to a strict timeline so Albertans can understand and know when help is coming, and [the UCP are] even unwilling to do that,” she said.
Renaud said her office has received considerable response from constituents who say their bills have doubled and they can’t manage.
“And to be frank, $50 a month for a utility bill is not going to provide a lot of Alberta families with the help they need,” she said.
During a press conference April 20 Nally said the province wants to implement the rebates as soon as possible, “However, new legislation was necessary to enable Alberta Energy to legally put these programs into action and get the rebates into the pockets of Albertans in the most fiscally responsible way,” he said.
Nally could not give a solid timeline on when the electricity rebate is set to take effect, and said it will be dependent on how long it takes utility retailers to adjust their billing systems.
“We are encouraging the retailers to get this onto people's bills as soon as possible. I'm hopeful that that that will be June. For some retailers it may go into July, but we're asking them to help us turn this around as quickly as possible,” he said.
Nally said the electricity rebate his government plans to give to Albertans will impact more than 1.9 million residences, farms, and small businesses, “Unlike the NDP’s rate cap, which [will] only apply to around half of electricity customers,” he said.
Renaud said the impending natural gas rebates are also disappointing, as they won’t kick in until October of 2022.
The province is set to enable the natural gas rebates if regulated natural gas rates exceed $6.50 per gigajoule between Oct. 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, “That's only if the regulated rates exceed about $6.50 per gigajoule. So, I mean, is that likely to happen? Probably not,” she said.
Nally said the province has yet to write the regulation for the natural gas rebates, and that those rebates were intended to prevent a “European-style energy crisis.”
During the April 20 press conference, in response to reporters’ questions about why Albertans are not seeing those rebates now despite acknowledging that natural gas prices went over $7 per gigajoule on April 17, Nally said those prices had since dropped, and until the regulations are written, he can't provide clarity on whether Albertans will see rebates for natural gas sooner.
“At the time this decision was made, gas was certainly not in in the $6 area like it is now, and we know that gas natural gas consumption is the highest during the winter months. ... What we're seeing now of this high price in April is unprecedented. It's related to the geopolitical events,” said Nally.
Renaud said some constituents can wait for these rebates to kick in, but those she has heard from are struggling right now, adding that on top of high costs for utility bills, Albertans are dealing with inflation and a rise in cost for nearly everything else.
“Some constituents have sent me examples privately of their bills and I'm shocked at the costs. People are hurting now, and waiting for this generally 'in the summer,' when is that? When exactly will this begin in the summer?" said Renaud. “People are hurting right now.”
Renaud said the reality is, the regulations aren’t even written and these rebates might take months.
“My question back is what [has the province] been doing for all these months? They have known for a long time that people were just completely overwhelmed by the cost of utilities,” said Renaud.
“It's just an epic failure to [not] support Alberta families when they need it. I mean, people are really hurting all over the province and in St. Albert as well."
