Committee recommends 10% utility rate hike for Blatchford residents
An Edmonton council committee is recommending city council hike utility rates for Blatchford residents by 10 per cent next year.
Administrators laid out the case for the decision at a utility meeting on Friday, explaining that Blatchford's city-owned utility, which provides renewable geothermal energy to the neighbourhood, has had operating shortfalls. Meanwhile, natural gas has become a lot more expensive for Edmontonians in the rest of the city.
The recommended increase, if approved by council, would bring Blatchford rates in line with what other residents pay for utilities. Based on a five-year average of utility bills and maintenance costs from 2020–24, the utility estimates Blatchford customers would pay $1,911 per year, about 12 per cent lower than Edmontonians in other neighbourhoods.
"Ten per cent is not that bad," Jim Beckett, a utilities consultant for the city, said during the meeting.
Some Blatchford residents disagree.
Josh de Groot told councillors the proposed rate increase appeared to be contrary to climate change policy.
"The entire theory behind the carbon tax would be that people can choose non-renewable sources to avoid that carbon tax," he said.
Blatchford residents heat their homes with geothermal energy.
"We're essentially being charged a carbon tax on our renewable system," he said.
He said rejecting the rate increases would be one of multiple ways to improve affordability in the developing neighbourhood, where townhouses cost about $650,000.
Coun. Tim Cartmell said residents living in developing neighbourhoods like Ambleside or Glenridding Heights can't afford to live in Blatchford, and because the utility is borrowing money from the city to pay for its energy infrastructure costs, these taxpayers are essentially subsidizing Blatchford.
"Should there not be some equity on the rate?" he asked.
Natural gas energy
Committee members also endorsed administration's recommendation to build a natural gas energy centre earlier than planned — a decision expected to result in a temporary increase of greenhouse gas emissions.
Adam Laughlin, deputy city manager of integrated infrastructure services, said the decision would manage the risks of large capital investments in Blatchford. The city's long-term carbon-neutral commitment for the neighbourhood would remain, he said.
Coun. Anne Stevenson said she initially was skeptical and concerned about the proposed natural gas energy centre but changed her mind after hearing administration's analysis.
"I think the peaking centres are inevitable — that's what I'm hearing," she said.
Cartmell said the pace and volume of land development is "the secret sauce" that would solve the utility's problems.
"If we can increase that pace, if we can get more development in that area… then a lot of these rate-paying equity questions really go away," he said.
