Commitments and Contingencies
In June 2005, ENMAX Energy received a Notice of Reassessment from Alberta Finance in respect of the 2001 taxation year, claiming an amount owing for income taxes of $16.9 million, including $3.2 million of interest. In July and November 2006, ENMAX Energy received additional Notices of Reassessment relating to the 2002 and 2003 taxation years, in the amount of $23.7 million, including $5.0 million of interest, and $58.0 million, including $10.4 million of interest, respectively. Subsequently, in July 2007, ENMAX Energy received an amended Notice of Reassessment for the 2003 taxation year for an additional $1.8 million relating to items not previously assessed. The reassessments relate primarily to the value of certain power purchase arrangement assets established for the purpose of the PILOT Regulation and the allocation of costs and benefits of the energy supply portfolio between taxable and non-taxable operations for those years.
The Corporation does not agree with the assessments and has commenced the necessary steps to defend its position through the formal appeals process. However, ENMAX Energy voluntarily remitted certain amounts to minimize interest and penalties until the issues are resolved, which are recorded as income taxes receivable as at December 31, 2007 and 2006. The Corporation expects this process to be successful and will vigorously pursue all options available should the appeals process result in an unfavourable outcome. The amount of possible adjustment, which could have a material impact on net earnings, cannot be reasonably estimated at this time and no provision has been made in the consolidated financial statements for any additional income tax expense that may be payable relating to these assessments.
Environmental
The Alberta government announced new regulations aimed at reducing the levels of greenhouse gas emissions which took effect July 2007. The direct costs to comply with the terms of the legislation will total approximately $18.7 million for 2008. The Corporation has taken steps to substantially mitigate these risks including price increases to new customers, as well as aquiring qualified credits from both its wind generation assets and purchases on the wholesale market. The change in law provisions in the PPA contracts has the potential to expose ENMAX to a significant portion of these compliance costs. For the year ended December 31, 2007, the financial statements include a charge to earnings in the amount of $9.5 million, included in costs of electricity services provided, relating to estimated compliance costs under the provincial regulations, associated with ENMAX’s ownership interests in coal-fired generation facilities through its PPAs and the tolling agreement under the Calgary Energy Centre. As the regulations and applicable compliance details have not yet been finalized, the total amount of these costs, could change from the currently estimated amounts. The Corporation continues to assess and monitor the implications these changes in legislation may have on its business.
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