Coming Up: May 30
Council meets on Monday. The most significant items on our agenda:
Electricity Fee Advocacy
Energy Procurement
Parade Fees
Following is more information and my take on agenda items.
As always, any mistakes or opinions belong to me and me alone, not to Council or City staff.
While I express my current views below, I work hard to go into meetings ready to listen and with an open mind. I learn new information and participate in debate. This always informs, and sometimes changes, how I vote on issues.
If you would like to watch the meeting or read any of its supporting material for yourself, you can do so by clicking here. The City will post the highlights of Council’s decisions here.
Electricity Advocacy
One role of Council: advocating to senior government on behalf of our residents.
One big issue for Grande Prairie residents: the skyrocketing cost of electricity.
A big portion of every electricity bill is distribution and energy fees. In Alberta, there is a huge disparity in these energy fees. A Grande Prairie resident is expected to pay far more than residents in Calgary, Edmonton, and other southern Alberta municipalities. The reason for that: our residents are expected to subsidize service into northern rural areas.
This isn’t fair. ALL Albertans benefit from the economic activity happening in rural and northern Alberta. Therefore, all Albertans should contribute to the energy system.
Council has been advocating to the province to change how distribution and transmission fees are calculated. We believe that all urban areas should pay equal rates.
On Monday, we will be looking at a potential Resolution to bring forward to the Alberta Municipalities conference in September. This Resolution calls for our electrical system to be equalized across Alberta. If this Resolution passes at convention, it will become a point of advocacy for Alberta Municipalities.
You can read the Resolution here. One graph from the Resolution worth checking out:
I’ll be supporting Council approving this Resolution. It is an established area of priority for Council. Asking Alberta Municipalities to support it is an important advocacy strategy.
City Electricity Procurement
Electricity is a major cost for municipalities. To limit this cost, Alberta Municipalities operates an energy program. Members purchase electricity together. By making bulk purchases, costs are lowered. The City of Grande Prairie has been participating in this program since 2001 and has seen good results.
It is proposed that the City lock in long-term rates by entering into a power purchasing agreement that will last until 2027. Long-term contracts provide budget stability and are likely to deliver lower rates than shorter term procurements would deliver. Council will be debating whether or not to authorize this long term agreement.
Parade Fees
When the City organizes a parade, it charges floats a fee to help cover City costs. Non-profits are charged $10.50 and for-profit companies are charged $105.
It is recommended that Council waive these fees for 2022.
I look forward to hearing from City Administration about why this recommendation is being made. But I assume it is to help kickstart the Canada Day Parade after a few years of it being cancelled.
I’m likely to support this recommendation. However, first I need to know more about decoration requirements for floats. In the past, I’ve seen company branded trucks with little to no decorations. They seemed to be entering the parade as a form of cheap advertising without making effort to enhance the celebrations. I don’t like this. If we are going to give free parade entries, we should require effort be put into decorating for-profit entries.
That’s what is on our agenda for Monday. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You can comment below. Or, you can contact me at dbressey@cityofgp.com or 780-402-4166. I'm happy to talk online or over the phone. I'm also always willing to setup a time to meet for coffee.
We also always have great conversation in the GP Round Table group on Facebook.
After Council meeting, you will be able to find highlights posted by the City here.
Thanks for reading!
-Dylan