Casual Legal: Impacts of new Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act
DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information to Alberta Municipalities members only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated. This content is not intended for the general public.
By Jeskiret Bains
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider
The Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, SA 2024, c 8 (the “Act”) was proclaimed on June 20, 2024. This Act will bring changes to local access fees imposed by municipalities; particularly, the use of variable rates tied to the price of gas or electricity will no longer be allowed.
Instead, a uniform provincial framework will be imposed through amendments to the Municipal Government Act (MGA). Further, there will be a re-naming of the “regulated rate option”. Instead, it will be titled the “rate of last resort” so that consumers can better understand the nature of the rate being imposed. Finally, municipalities must now have franchise agreements with a municipally controlled corporation, a subsidiary of the municipality or a regional services commission for the provision of fuel or electricity approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC).
These changes will be implemented through amendments to the Alberta Utilities Commission Act, the Electric Utilities Act, the Gas Utilities Act, the Government Organization Act, the Regulated Rate Option Stability Act, and the MGA.
With respect to franchise agreements, the Act provides for amendments to the Electric Utilities Act and the Gas Utilities Act that will provide municipalities with a short window to have impacted franchise agreements approved. Without the AUC approval, existing franchise agreements impacted by the amendments will terminate on March 17, 2025. Further information can be found in the AUC’s Bulletin 2024-12.
Municipalities should review their existing structure for imposing local access fees and their existing franchise agreements to ensure they are meeting the deadlines outlined above and are aware of the impacts the Act will have on any such agreements.
To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (email) to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please call 310-MUNI (6864) or riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to connect with Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.
