Energy, Utilities, and how Consumers are being over charged? (Part 2 Q&A)

The deregulation of Alberta’s electricity system is now 19-years old, and in the last five years three successive Alberta governments have passed on an opportunity to mitigate the shortcomings of an Alberta “energy only market.” This has resulted in Albertans paying more for their energy utilities. Climate change and the climate change debate have significantly impacted retail utility costs in Alberta. The speaker will examine these impacts from a regulatory perspective, and how contemporaneous political influences have caused utility rates to rise for the average ratepayer. He will explain the pricing mechanism employed by the regulator and the industry that set Alberta’s utility rates. The speaker will also detail the deficiencies plaguing the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), and the National Energy Board (NEB). He will finish his talk with recommendations that the public can employ to improve our regulatory processes. Speaker: Joe Anglin Joe served four years with the United States Marines. He also worked as a police officer in New Hampshire before becoming a lineman for the power company in Vermont, and a fibre-optic transmission engineer for the Bell system. He served as the Bell system’s White House Communications liaison for George Bush Sr’s administration in Kennebunk Port, Maine. Joe immigrated to Vancouver, Canada to become the President and CEO of the investment firm ASIG Inc (ASIG), trading currencies and energy derivatives. He also served with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary for seven years as a unit leader for the Canadian Coast Guard’s fast-response Search & Rescue operations on the Pacific Coast and led the Canadian SAR (Search & Rescue) team to victory in the 2000 World Marine Search & Rescue competitions. In Alberta, Joe organized and led a rural citizen’s group called the Lavesta Area Group against a proposed AltaLink 500 KV transmission line. For his work, he was named by the Edmonton Journal as one of the top ten people in the province who made a difference, and was named by Alberta Views as one of Alberta’s 50 most influential people. Joe has served on Rimbey’s Town Counsel and was elected MLA for Rimbey, Rocky Mountain House, Sundre. He served three years as the Chairman for the Rimoka Senior’s Housing Authority. In addition to Joe’s engineering background, he has a BSc in Business Management, MSc in Adult Education, and Juris Doctorate in Law. Moderator: Larry Elford Date: Thursday, October 3, 2019 Time: Doors open 11:30 am, Presentation 12 noon, buffet lunch 12:30 pm, Q&A 1 – 1:30 pm Location: Royal Canadian Legion (north door) 324 Mayor Magrath Dr. S. Lethbridge Cost:$14 buffet lunch with dessert/coffee/tea/juice or $2 coffee/tea/juice. RSVP not required