It’s time for the citizens of Red Deer to tell City Council how we want our power delivered.
Red Deer City Council is deciding whether to modernize the existing electrical utility department, or create a municipally controlled corporation to handle our power. And they want the public’s feedback before making their final decision.
Several City councillors have called the electric utility decision one of the biggest council has faced. Councillors have already received dozens of emails from concerned citizens.
There’s a lot at stake. Utility services are the only department that actually makes the City of Red Deer money. Creating a new company to handle electricity could put at least some of that revenue at risk, while also costing up to $7.8 million in taxpayer dollars just to set it up.
Starting a municipally controlled corporation may also open the door to further privatization in the future. That means more expensive power bills.
The best option is to upgrade our current grid, but keep our electric utility publicly owned and operated. That will keep the revenue flowing, keep good jobs from being lost, and save millions on setup costs—while also making sure your power isn’t slowly privatized.
But Red Deer City Council needs to hear that from you. Don’t miss your chance to speak up before council makes their final decision, which will be after the public hearing on June 23.
Sign our new petition and download our Electric Utility Decision Participation Toolkit to keep our electric utility publicly owned and operated. We’ll be submitting the petition to council, so we need as many concerned citizens as possible to sign it before the deadline.
The deadline for all submissions to council is June 13, so add your name today!