The rate increase would increase monthly costs by about $1.54, or just over $18 over a year.
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Enmax is increasing administration fees for some customers by 22 percent starting in October.
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Calgary’s city-owned utility will increase management fees on its EasyMax plan from $0.23 to $0.28 per day for both electricity and natural gas beginning October 16, according to a notice posted on its website. website and included in recent energy bills.
In a statement to Postmedia, the utility said it was raising rates for the first time in a decade to offset rising billing costs for customer service and support.
“Enmax continually invests in reliability, safety and user-friendly technology to provide our customers with safe, reliable electricity and exceptional service,” the company said.
“A small portion of monthly customer fees, which haven’t changed in a decade, goes into managing these services.”
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On its website, Enmax says that monthly management fees cost users an average of $7.10 per site. The rate increase would increase monthly costs by about $1.54, or just over $18 over a year.
They say that rates are subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of the utility company.
Jim Wachowich is an attorney with the Alberta Consumers Coalition, an independent group that advocates for energy consumers in the province.
He said energy retailers are free to unilaterally change rates like the one being increased.
“What they’ve done is charge a fee that they bill customers, an administrative fee, and they’ve said, ‘We’re just going to change it.’ And they don’t have to seek regulatory approval,” Wachowich said.
“What they have to worry about is whether customers will stay with them or migrate to other providers.”
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Consumers can access resources, including the provincial. Public Services Consumer Ombudsman website to compare energy rates in the market.
But Wachowich said that for many consumers, the market “is more confusing than competitive.”
And while the burden on people will be relatively small, he said the increased burden will have a significant impact on Enmax’s bottom line.
“The impact to customers is a few cents a day, less than two dollars a month increase,” Wachowich said.
“But over all the customers served by that retailer, and I don’t know how many there are, this could be hundreds of thousands of dollars a month and millions of dollars a year.”
Potential utility relief for Calgarians is expected to be discussed at City Hall this fall, as councilmembers decide how to allocate a $47 million windfall the city received amid a spike in energy prices. .
The additional revenue, which comes from charging 11.11 percent local access fees on electricity bills, was placed in the city’s reserves. The Council will be able to direct its spending during budget deliberations in November.
The United Conservative provincial government is currently launching your own electricity discount for the last six months of 2022, with a $50 monthly bill credit for eligible consumers. The first bonus applies to the energy used in July.
Twitter: @jasonfherring
