MEDIA RELEASE

March 5, 2001

Conservative Party spokesman Gordon Turtle is quoted in the Edmonton Journal today as saying that for non-residential power users, a range of rebates aims to keep rates at 7.4 cents per kilowatt-hour, slightly above the range of five or six cents paid last year. Mr. Turtle should stop spewing party rhetoric long enough to look at the facts. He should contact Alberta businesses, as we have done, and see what they are really paying.

Mr. Turtle needs an education in the components that make up an electricity bill. Under deregulation, the raw cost of energy is only one piece of the puzzle. Consumers now pay for energy, for billing charges, for distribution (wires) charges, for municipal consent and access fees (city tax) and for mark-ups (profit) for the retailers. There are so many hands out waiting to receiving their cut that it becomes obvious that having more players, desiring more profit, must result in higher prices.

Businesses from throughout Alberta have forwarded their electricity invoices to IASA. A true comparison of today's prices can be made by comparing January 2001 to January 2000. The results are summarized below, and do include the non-residential electricity rebate.

In 1993 the government promised that deregulation would "introduce industry structure and regulatory reforms that preserve and enhance the Alberta advantage of competitive electricity prices". It is now obvious that this goal has not been met. Businesses are paying 2 to 3 times as much for electricity under deregulation. The government must now admit that deregulation is a colossal failure. The government must move swiftly to fix the flaws in the current system, whereby consumers are being gouged and generators and retailers are reaping windfall profits.

Quote from John Davies:

"The facts speak for themselves, electricity costs have more than doubled under deregulation, even with the rebate.

At the recent debate, Premier Klein stated that he was a man who kept his promises. Premier Klein's slogan in the last election was 'He kept his word ... and he will again.' Klein's government promised that deregulation would preserve and enhance the Alberta advantage of competitive electricity prices. It appears that Premier Klein is no longer a man of his word. His promises about the benefits of deregulation have not been kept. Alberta businesses are now paying a huge price for the government's folly.

On November 15, 2000 Premier Klein stated that 'When people get their electricity bills, I would be very, very happy to say: this is all the result of the Klein energy policy.'

Businesses now have received their electricity bills, and they are shocked to be paying 2 to 3 times more for electricity than they were a year ago. If Mr. Klein is happy to say that these shocking bills are the result of his energy policy, then Mr. Klein must no longer care about Alberta businesses and the hardship they are currently facing."

For further information , please contact:

Chris Spearman
Chairman, Industrial Association of Southern Alberta
(403) 317-2115

John Davies, P.Eng., MBA
Secretary & Treasurer, Industrial Association of Southern Alberta
Vice President, Lethbridge Iron Works
(403) 380-1555

Background

The Industrial Association of Southern Alberta (IASA) was founded in 1983. We represent and advocated for the interests of manufacturers and processors in Southern Alberta in order to maintain a positive climate for investment, economic diversity and wealth generation for Albertans.