Edmontonians will see a small bump in their power bills next year. On Tuesday, Edmonton City Council approved the increase of its municipal electricity distribution franchise fee up to 19.4 per cent on Jan. 1. Franchise fees are paid by energy providers, like Epcor and ATCO, for their use of city infrastructure to deliver electricity. Edmonton’s current rate is 17.65 per cent; city staff said the increase would bring the city in line with neighbouring municipalities of Spruce Grove and Stony Plain, as well as the City of Calgary. The increase will cost the typical residential power user a bit more than a dollar each month, city administration said, but will bring in an additional $20 million annually. “I think it’s really important that we are focusing on making the utility run as efficiently as possible, and this is part of that,” said Coun. Michael Janz. “Then we can run a more efficient city, and we can have a better budget and we can mitigate property taxes.” “If we’re not going to do it here, we’re going to get it at taxes,” said Coun. Jon Morgan. “I think this is probably the better route.” Coun. Erin Rutherford opposed the motion, citing the rising cost of living and the volatility of Alberta’s energy market. “Once we make this decision, it is out of our control how utility rates fluctuate or impact Albertans and Edmontonians,” she said. Coun. Mike Elliot also opposed the hike over what he said could be a sticking point for new businesses, who could be facing thousands of dollars in extra utility costs. “When I look at the electrical distribution franchise fees, Beaumont, 17.25; Fort Sask. zero; Leduc 16; St. Albert 15; Strathcona zero … “That may be just an extra pushing point to say, ‘No. I will go just outside city boundaries.” The fee increase was passed 8 to 5.
