ENMAX responds to government allegations
The Government of Alberta has commenced legal action against ENMAX and other industry participants, including the Alberta Utilities Commission and Balancing Pool, with regard to Power Purchase Arrangements (PPAs).
We look forward to responding with facts during the judicial review process, and we are committed to doing this as soon as possible. However, in the best interest of our Shareholder, the City of Calgary and our customers, we have concerns with the accuracy of the information in the filing and we think it's important that they know:
- These legal agreements with the government have been in place and relied upon for 16 years, and were intended to be respected for a 20-year period by an industry that has invested billions of dollars in Alberta during this time.
- We are very disappointed that the government is retroactively challenging fundamental aspects that have been in place in these agreements since their inception. The industry bid on these PPAs through a transparent auction process and collectively paid nearly $3 billion for them, with the proceeds of these sales returned to all Albertans via credits on their electricity bills.
- The Government of Alberta should have known about the implications of its actions related to the PPA issue. Alberta Energy and Alberta Justice officials are well versed on the history of PPAs, their importance in the power auction process and their implications.
- Given the government's change in law to carbon costs, ENMAX's actions on its PPAs were completely foreseeable, legal and reasonable in carrying out its fiduciary duty to its Shareholder – the City of Calgary and its 1.2 million citizens.
More broadly, we are concerned with the approach the government is taking and the signals it sends for future investment in Alberta. We believe there are cooperative solutions that can meet the government's climate change goals, manage the costs to consumers and respect the investments industry has made.
Learn more about PPAs.