OLDS — Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper says he’s been advocating to Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf for cheaper electrical rates.
Cooper discussed the issued at a recent Olds council meeting where he was a delegation.
Coun. Darren Wilson noted that thanks to the economy, “everybody in Alberta is stretched to the limits.” Given that fact, he asked Cooper when residents might expect “some relief.”
Cooper said he met recently with members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #105 about electricity distribution costs “and the net negative impact, particularly on rural Alberta, when we compare it to our urban neighbours.”
“In rural Alberta, we pay a disproportionately high distribution fees to get our power to our homes,” Cooper said.
“I appreciate there's less homes out there and more lines, but the electricity grid is a provincial-wide asset.
“For whatever it's been worth, I have spent a significant amount of time advocating to the minister about just how unfair this particular piece of the electricity market is, and how (reducing those bills) would have a real net positive to rural residents.
“And so I hope that that's a part of the solution that we see with respect to affordable electricity prices, and in particular in rural Alberta.”
