Send your letter to the editor today

Red Deer is at an important crossroads. Will our electric utility stay publicly owned and operated, or will it be partially or completely privatized?

With a municipal election coming up this fall, and a public hearing on this issue set for June 23, it’s critical that the citizens of Red Deer speak up now. Councillors are listening.

You can help protect our public power and raise awareness about this issue by sending a letter to the editor. It only takes a moment because we’ve already drafted some key messages for you to use.

• Red Deer is facing one of the most important decisions we’ll ever make. On June 23 the CIty is holding a public hearing to help decide who will run our electric utility.

• Right now our power is publicly owned and operated, but Red Deer City Council is considering creating a new arms length corporation to manage our electricity instead.

• This is a mistake. Setting up a new municipally controlled corporation (MCC) to run our power has a lot of risks, and unclear benefits. 

• To start, it’s going to cost millions to set up. That’s a lot of money that could go towards other services and infrastructure. 

• Changing who runs our power could also put electricity revenue at risk. Right now, utilities bring in a whopping 41 per cent of the City’s revenue. Even losing a portion of that revenue could have a big impact on upcoming budgets, and our property taxes. 

• Jobs could also be put at risk if we change the management of our electric utility.

• Finally, setting up an arms length corporation opens the door to privatization of our power. While the City has ruled out completely divesting, some are still pushing for this option. Handing our power over to a private corporation could mean more expensive power bills for all of us. 

• Modernizing our grid shouldn’t mean adding a new middle man between us and our power. Why fix a problem that doesn’t exist—and spend millions to do it?