The City of Lloydminster has passed a motion which will see an increase to the franchise fees for ATCO gas and ATCO electric.
The presentation was made by Ryan Hill, financial planning and analysis manager at the City of Lloydminster, at the Oct. 21 council meeting.
The item was brought forward to council at the Oct. 15 Governance and Priorities Committee meeting. The amendment aims to increase the ATCO Electric franchise fee to 14.5 per cent and the ATCO Gas franchise fee to 28.5 per cent.
Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers asked Hill during the presentation when the last franchise fee increase was.
"One year ago, last year we increased," said Hill.
Aalbers followed up by asking how much the previous year's increase was.
"It was one and a half per cent on each one," stated Hill.
Coun. Jonathan Torresan voiced his support, stating this is a revenue source for the city.
"When I look at this in the grand scheme of things, in a sense, it's very similar to taxation. It is a revenue source for the city," he said. "We already know in the past inflation has been continuously putting pressure on the municipality the same way it has been on households."
Torresan says the municipality does depend on the revenue that comes from the franchise fees and says there's possibly other cost savings on the horizon.
"Especially knowing the Alberta Utilities Commission, if you go on their website, they're doing consultation about bringing distribution fees down in the province of Alberta," he said.
In the map provided during the presentation, it shows the segments of the city which receive ATCO power and SaskPower. However, all of Lloydminster receives gas through ATCO.
The motion to increase the franchise fees passed and the new rates will take effect Jan. 1, 2025.
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