As we roll into a very unseasonably cold April and are still faced with paying the egregious NDP carbon (dioxide) tax on everything we need to use to keep our homes warm and families fed, we will also face much higher electricity bills. The NDP have forced TransAlta to prematurely mothball four coal-fired power plants, taking a large supply of electricity out of the available supply. The wholesale rate for electricity in the province has averaged about $25 per Mega-Watt-hour for the last couple of years. In March the price was $32/MWh and for April it has more than doubled to $66/MWh. This is added to the carbon (dioxide) tax that is equal to about 75 per cent of the price of natural gas. Don’t be fooled by the NDP claims that it only costs the “average” family $5 per month, instead check your bill and you will see it is much higher than that!
As we head into spring and look forward to better weather, our pocketbooks will feel the extra pinch when the electricity bills arrive next month. With all of the claims that Albertans will benefit from the carbon (dioxide) tax, we are only seeing higher costs for everything and less money each month for our families.
Nigel Flemming
