Dear Mr. Nenshi, Looking back at your record as Mayor of Calgary – the city, as the sole shareholder of ENMAX, approved the investment of $2 billion to buy Versant Power, a utility in Maine. You supported ENMAX’s highly leveraged investment in the United States (U.S.) and said : “The purchase by the city-owned company involves ‘good debt.’ ” Times have changed, and municipalities throughout Alberta will likely be affected by tariffs imposed by President Trump. Given this new reality and that you are now the leader of the NDP, what is your opinion on governments supporting/promoting utilities that have expanded their business interests by investing in the U.S.? As a local taxpayer, a local company, and a strong proponent of Canadian sovereignty, we believe Premier Smith should encourage our major municipal utilities to do the right thing and bring their foreign investment dollars back to Alberta. If our government wants to promote ‘Affordability,’ the big regulated utiliti...

When we launched the Solar Club in 2019, we had a bold vision: empowering homeowners with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to actively participate in Alberta’s evolving energy market. Five years later, this vision has transformed into an inspiring reality. Here’s how Solar Club Members blazed a trail of success in 2024. For the very first time, Solar Club Members are collectively  net  positive  in a single year  based solely on exports to the grid . The value to Members for 2024 from exports, cash back, and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) is a whopping  $14.9M , bringing the cumulative total from 2019 onwards to nearly  $33M! The Solar Club operates on four core pillars: Improving ROI:  By providing excellent rates, a cash back program, and the chance to profit from the sale of carbon credits, Members have vastly improved the returns on their solar investments. Achieving Net Zero:  By aggregating all Members’ exports, we can achieve net zer...

By: Darren Chu As a competitive retailer in Alberta’s deregulated electricity market, we often face comments about “the failure of deregulation.” These comments align with the Alberta Federation of Labour’s recent report suggesting that Alberta consider “re-regulating” the electricity market. Reports like these are misleading and don’t paint the full picture. Alberta’s electricity market is complex, to say the least. Generation, transmission, distribution, retailers, it’s a complicated web of entities, each with its own part to play in the delivery of reliable and affordable energy to Albertans. Most of us recall the emergency alert on January 13, 2024, when temperatures plummeted, and the Alberta Emergency Management Agency issued an alert to our phones asking everyone to reduce their consumption and alleviate the strain on our grid. Thanks to the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) and its fast-acting staff, they were able to avert a crisis and prevent rolling blackouts. T...

By: Nick Clark Madeline Low founded our company in 1978, 47 years ago. Today, it is one of Alberta’s oldest and still privately owned utility energy companies. As a grassroots and local software company, our first customer was Imperial Oil (and is still a client today). We have had over four decades of continued growth. The UTILITYnet group of companies has reached the magic mark of $100 million in annual sales with over 60,000 electricity, natural gas, Internet, and Industrial accounts managed through the energy management systems and retail services provided to customers in Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan. We have survived the ever-changing landscape of Alberta’s regulatory framework and deregulation of our energy market driven by the ideologies of Lougheed, Getty, Klein, Stelmach, Redford, Hancock, Prentice, Notley, and Kenney. Today, we’re dealing with another (well-needed) round of restructuring of the electricity market by our premier, Danielle Smith. Madel...