EDMONTON, AB (July 28, 2015): Today, Wildrose Shadow Minister for Electricity and Renewables Don MacIntyre called for stronger oversight in Alberta’s electricity system, following a regulatory finding of market manipulation and price rigging.
The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) announced Monday that TransAlta Corporation intentionally planned power outages at its plants during peak times in order to drive up Alberta electricity prices.
“Wildrose has been sounding the alarm about consumers being gouged by a broken electricity system for years now,’” MacIntyre said. “Albertans have been paying some of the highest power prices in North America and need greater protection. The government should’ve realized something was wrong and acted immediately to fix a broken system. Consumers need to be more strongly protected from future threats of market manipulation.”
MacIntyre said Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd must communicate her plans to protect Albertans from unfair electricity bills in the future.
“Market manipulation in Alberta’s utilities is very serious. It’s harmful to the economy and it clearly should be illegal,” MacIntyre said. “Albertans want the Minister to strengthen the oversight protocols identified in the AUC’s ruling.”