LYTLE: Could we pay less for power if the government gets back into the game?

Is it possible the invocation of the Sovereignty Act may bring an unexpected benefit to the people of Alberta? Is it possible the Alberta electrical system, under temporary government control, may once again be understandable and more affordable to end users? It hurt me to write that because I reliably believe the government always messes things up, but hear me out. I look forward to reading other views in the comments.When the retail electricity market was introduced, I was impressed by the views of Ron Southern, Chairman of Atco Industries. He argued the privatization of electricity generation and delivery would result in a lack of advance planning and a rise, rather than a decline, in end-user costs. In fairness, Mr. Southern operated some of the largest electricity generation plants in Alberta, so was perhaps conflicted. But, it was a legitimate argument. Another good argument came from Noel Somerville, chairman of the Public Interest Alberta’s seniors task force.“If I want to play the market, I can play the market. I don’t want to play the market with my electricity bill. I just don’t."I didn’t want to play the market either, because I knew I would lose. Darcy Henton has described the history of Alberta’s shift from a government controlled and regulated power system, to a private controlled and market-regulated power system. Did Energy Minister Steve West allow his libertarian ideology to cloud his judgment when it came to electrical deregulation? I was willing to give the Klein government the benefit of the doubt, given the success of its privatization of other agencies such as registry services. But with regard to electrical privatization, am I paying more or less today relative to what I would be paying had there been no privatization? Consider this:We now have five additional electrical system charges that amounted to 45% of my last electricity bill. Each of the charges goes to a company that wants to make a profit which, I suppose, increases my electricity costs. Do I understand how those system charges are set and what they are for? When they go up, to whom do I complain?As Mr. Southern stated, it will be difficult to find a company willing to build an expensive nuclear power electrical generating plant when Alberta decides to test the feasibility of such power. The financing of a government utility with a fifty-year life is quite different from a private facility with a ten- or fifteen-year life. At a minimum, the private facility will require a higher price per kilowatt hour to cover the risk of a shorter lifespan.Perhaps a benefit of the declaration of the Sovereignty Act will be a return to something like the regulated electricity market Alberta enjoyed before privatization and the power pool. Perhaps our power bills will be more understandable and less expensive. Perhaps citizens won’t have to understand complicated markets to make logical guesses in signing delivery contracts with one of a dozen power providers. Perhaps a utility market will be created that allows companies to invest in large, new, stable infrastructure with a significant probability of earning a return on their capital without resorting to high electricity charges.These are unknowns, so I am not advocating a change in how our electrical system market is handled. Rather, I am expressing a hope that the Government of Alberta will not be so ideologically constrained that it misses the opportunity to review the costs and benefits of a private power pool versus a government operated utility using twenty years of data. It may be that we are being handed a great opportunity to either prove the wisdom of Mr. West or revert to the more stable and less expensive system advocated by Mr. Southern. The study should be done.Murray Lytle is a professional engineer and a former commissioner on the National Energy Board

LYTLE: Could we pay less for power if the government gets back into the game?

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