No Movement on Business Electricity Rate Debate

It may be a new energy committee which met for the first time since the election on Thursday, but it was a nagging topic that dominated the discussion.

The city’s Energy, Land and Environment Committee meeting for the first time this term on Thursday.

Rate classifications for small businesses whose peak demand occasionally forays into medium commercial usage was debated by the previous council for 18 months.

New members on the committee, councillors Bill Cocks, Stu Young and chair Ted Clugston, found the issue once again before them during a presentation by city staff.

City staff explained to committee members the current pricing structure is based on the infrastructure required to provide the peak demand when required to small businesses. And there isn’t a difference in that infrastructure between those who experience short, sharp increases in electricity or a more sustained demand.

They also outlined the formalization of a practice begun in the spring of notifying a business when its peak has crossed the threshold of reclassification into the higher rates while providing a two-month grace period to allow for adjustments.

 But that grace period is only granted once in a 12-month consecutive period with the break only during the two proceeding months following the breach into the higher rate classification.

“You get a free pass during the grace period but that’s your free pass. Any breach, you are in a new class because you’ve had your chance to adjust and respond,” Rochelle Pancoast, managing director of energy, land and environment, told the committee. “Part of the theory is this is all infrastructure cost driven. If you are requiring the higher infrastructure at peak, we’re asking that to be paid for.”

The committee heard other jurisdictions simply put businesses into higher rate classifications for 12 months as soon as they venture into higher usage.

Coun. Young asked about the status of the idea of making the grace period into four months and hearing it will require some additional work prior to an option being put forward.