Alberta Energy Rebate Exclusion Has ‘Created Two Classes Of Condo Owners’ – Lethbridge | Globalnews.ca

While many Albertans eagerly await the first of six $50 electricity rebates promised by the province, a section of condo owners were dismayed to find that they live in buildings deemed ineligible for the program.

Phil Rosenzweig lives in the Rio Vista condominium in Lethbridge, which he said has 124 units and about 300 residents, not all of whom will be exempt. The building is 55+ and they said the average age of residents is closer to 80.

“This building, most of the large buildings in Lethbridge – and many other places in the province – will not be exempt, strictly because they are one-metre buildings,” he said.

With only one meter tracking the electricity used in Rosenzweig’s building, it does not qualify under the 250 megawatt-hour limit used within the previous year. So residents are not eligible for assistance, even though they cover their personal utility costs through their monthly condo fees.

“Overall, none of us are using over the limit, but because they are grouping us as a single building, the building has” exceeded the limit, Rosenzweig said.

If residents of Rio Vista were eligible, the $50 exemption that extends through December would total more than $37,000.

“If you live in a townhouse, or if you’re living in a condo and you pay your electricity bill, you’ll get a discount. But the rest of us won’t. We don’t think it’s fair, and Minister Nelly’s department has created two classes of condo owners.”

Rosenzweig sits on the board of directors Condo Owners Forum Society of Alberta (COF), which earlier this month wrote a letter to Allied Minister for Natural Gas and Electricity Dale Nelly.

COF estimates that there are more than a million condo owners in Alberta, and Rosenzweig believes half of them are single-metre buildings. He said that one meter is used in many big buildings built more than 20 years ago.

In a statement to Global News, Associate Minister Neely said, “Thousands of condo and apartment units are among more than 1.9 million homes, farms and small businesses that qualify for the electricity exemption, and many got their first one this month.” Exemptions Already Received. Sub-metered homes do not qualify for the exemption, as they are not directly connected to the distribution system and are not regulated by the Alberta Utilities Commission, the sub-metering provider.

Nalli said that although not every consumer will qualify for the electricity rebate, it is one of several energy affordability programs the province has implemented.

“Our primary goal for the waiver was to deliver the program as efficiently and effectively as possible in terms of cost, time and burden. A bill-based program – which requires a direct connection to the delivery system – through regulated providers was determined to be the most efficient and effective and with minimum burden on the consumers,” Nalli said.

NDP leader Rachel Notley told a news conference in Calgary on Friday that efficiency is not a valid excuse.

“Not only were they dragging their feet in the decision and in the administration of the decision, they have also been very sloppy in the design of this solution,” Notley said.

“In my view, efficiency does not apply if part of that efficiency is secured except for tens of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of Alberts who probably need this exemption the most. So this is a fundamentally unfair program.” “

According to Nelly’s office, 1.9 million households, farms and small businesses are eligible for the exemption. July bills will begin to show a reduction, and the province says some consumers have already received their first rebates.