Archives for February 2014

By Mabell, Dave on January 14, 2014.

Dave Mabell

LETHBRIDGE HERALD

[email protected]

Think you’re paying too much for electricity now? Things are only going to get worse, warns Mayor Chris Spearman.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg ” he told city council members Monday, after a detailed briefing from the city’s electrical utility manager.

Alberta’s electrical transmission costs have doubled over the last five years, manager Otto Lenz pointed out.

“And transmission charges could double again in the next five years,” he predicted.

With Lethbridge power bills expected to increase as much as 6.3 per cent per year, Lenz told council three of the city’s largest power users are already hoping to build their own power stations and go “off grid.” The impact, at least in the short term, would be to download more costs on Lethbridge homeowners and small businesses.

The soaring costs of power transmission, he said, are a result of the Conservative government’s decision to build two high-voltage transmission lines in central Alberta. They’ll cost $2 billion, he said, and the government has ruled ordinary Albertans should pay for their construction instead of the companies’ investors.

The two north-south lines’ capacity will be far in excess of need, Lenz said. They’ll be of little benefit to Lethbridge-area customers.

“It’s like running a Via Rail train between Coaldale and Lethbridge, for one passenger.”

Lethbridge officials have often made that point during presentations to the government-appointed energy regulators, he said.

“It’s fallen on deaf ears.”

Responding to council members’ questions, Lenz said while large, power-hungry companies are allowed to generate their own power, the city’s electrical utility is not. Yet Calgary and Edmonton are permitted to own large electric utilities which are allowed to generate.

Medicine Hat has to abide by almost none of the regulations that hamstring Lethbridge, he added. But Lethbridge, as a “wire services provider,” is required to provide service to local customers who do not want to sign a contract with Enmax or one of its retail competitors.

While it’s intended to operate on a break-even basis, he said the utility has lost as much as $2.8 million on those customers one year – when power prices spiked after a train derailed into Lake Wabamun, site of a major power plant west of Edmonton.

Year-end results for 2013 were a loss of about $1.5 million, he said, due to unexpected hikes in transmission charges set by the Alberta Electrical System Operator. The utility transferred $9.7 million to the city’s coffers, however, as a return on the city’s investment in electrical facilities.

In the power distribution tariff proposed for 2014, Lenz said the utility could resume a break-even course despite slight reductions to access fees for distribution.

A typical homeowner using 650 kilowatt-hours could see the bill rise from $112.66 to $117.64 per month, he estimated. A large retailer using about 35,000 kilovolts would see last year’s $5,472 bill increase to $5,841 per month.

The city recently created a higher-impact residential rate, Lenz said, in response to some owners’ decisions to use heat pumps for geothermal heating, or plug-in electric cars. Their monthly bills could advance to $466 for 3,500 kilowatt hours, up from $446 last year.

By Mabell, Dave on February 27, 2014.

Dave Mabell

LETHBRIDGE HERALD

[email protected]

There’s new opposition to a Calgary company’s plans to drill for oil in Lethbridge. The Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce has taken a stand against Goldenkey Oil’s bid to drill exploratory wells near new housing developments on the city’s westside.

In a statement released Wednesday the business organization is calling on the Conservative government to order a moratorium on all resource drilling inside urban centres.

If the government allows Goldenkey to proceed, it warns, it will have “a profound negative economic impact on the community as a whole.”

“Resource development in urban areas will result in significant negative economic and community impact,” the chamber’s board of directors warns.

The safety setbacks required in drilling zones will leave land in those areas “sterilized for urbanization purposes,” it adds.

The declaration of opposition, released by chamber president Bruce Galts, came after debate at the organization’s board of directors meeting. It also cited health and safety concerns, hazardous products trucking and adverse impacts on real estate values in its detailed statement.

“The health and safety of people in neighbouring areas of drilling activity are a top consideration of the chamber and the community,” it says. “Fact-based review of the potential risks and mitigating measures must be up for public review when drilling within a city boundary.”

Disruption of the city’s development plans and real estate market are key considerations as well, it suggests. When wells are drilled, the chamber says land will be needed for storage facilities, pipelines and safety setbacks.

“This will significantly impact the planning of future roads, homes, schools and commercial property,” it points out.

“The financial impacts to landowners and the city will be significant and should be one of the primary considerations in the approval process.”

Large areas of west Lethbridge could be isolated by the oil industry, the chamber says. Longterm plans for such projects as the Chinook Trail and other arterial roadways would also be disrupted, along with plans for new watermains, storm and sanitary sewer systems.

If Goldenkey’s first three exploratory wells are deemed successful, chamber members say, the company will likely apply for permits to drill more. That could leave large areas of west Lethbridge, the city’s fastest-growing area, “unavailable for urbanization.”

If any drilling plans are approved, the organization says a disaster response plan must be ready before any work begins. The company and the city should also have an agreement on access routes and their costs of maintenance, it adds.

City council, the real estate industry and the city’s public and Catholic school boards have also voiced strong opposition to the Goldenkey proposals.

Calgary company denies allegations

February 24, 201411:33 pm

LETHBRIDGE – After months of inquiries and controversy, Lethbridge residents were given answers to some of their questions surrounding oil and gas development within municipal limits.

Lethbridge City Council hosted a Community Issues Committee at the Yates Memorial Theatre Monday night with a number of expert panelists.

The meeting comes after months of public outcry over Calgary-based GoldenKey Oil’s potential plans to drill three exploratory wells on the west side.

“Right now it’s GoldenKey Oil but it might be somebody else next time,” he says.

Among the panelists at the meeting was a representative with the Alberta Energy Regulator, the sole agency that either approves or denies such energy projects in Alberta.

A spokesperson with the AER, Ryan Bartlett, says the organization looks at every aspect of public safety when considering at a proposal.

“We make sure if any approval is done it’s only if the resource can be developed in a way that will protect the environment, public and resource itself,” he adds.

Speaking to drilling processes, a professor of geophysics from the University of Alberta told the large crowd it’s hard to analyze the risks.

“There have been hydraulic fracturing going on for 60 to 70 years and usually it’s not that much of a problem. The issues have become now the usage of the water, could you induced seismicity, but there’s a lot we still don’t know and need to study.” Dr. Doug Schmitt explains.

GoldenKey oil is yet to officially submit an application to the AER.

Spearman says council has invited the company to meet with them, and will likely use the information they garnered at the meeting with plans moving forward.

“This is an issue that we’ve already heard about twice in Calgary…so now the third incident is happening in Lethbridge and it’s an issue that’s not going away,” he adds.

By Simmons, Garrett on February 16, 2014.

Group mounts letter campaign over GoldenKey plans

Judy Westcott

For the herald

Concerned citizens gathered for a letter writing campaign Saturday in hopes of sending a strong message to government and industry officials that oil well drilling should not be allowed within the municipal boundaries of the City of Lethbridge.

Held at McKillop United Church, the campaign was organized by The Black Spots, a local citizen group that formed recently in response to a proposal by Goldenkey Oil to seek permission from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to drill three oil wells on privately-owned land in West Lethbridge. The City of Lethbridge has no jurisdiction over oil and gas drilling within its urban boundaries. Drilling approvals are exclusively within the jurisdiction of the AER and public consultations are not mandatory.

“This letter campaign allows citizens to come together and discuss their concerns,” says Sharon Prenevost, a spokesperson for The Black Spots. “It can also provide a little comfort and hope to citizens who are feeling completely hopeless about the situation.”

She says the proposal by Goldenkey Oil to drill three sour wells within the urban boundaries of the city has “touched a nerve” in the community.

“The government tells us not to worry, but we do because of the many issues that have arisen due to fracking procedures over the years,” Prenevost says. “We want to have buffer zones created around urban areas, not just in Lethbridge, but all over the country.”

Residents attending the letter writing campaign were provided with information on mineral rights and drilling procedures, the political process involved in the approval of drilling applications and news articles for background information.

“We’re trying to sort fact from fiction, but when it comes to fracking, it’s very difficult,” Prenevost says. “Companies regard certain information, like what chemical cocktails they are using, as industry secrets.”

Prenevost says that although Saturday’s event was organized by The Black Spots, they were supported by other local groups such as the No Drilling Lethbridge movement and the Mission and Social Action Committee of McKillop United Church, which compiled a list of concerns for letter writers to reference as well as hosting the event.

Some of the concerns being raised include public safety from air emissions, possible water and soil contamination, an increase in the use of residential roads by industrial vehicles, noise and light pollution and the transportation of hazardous materials through residential neighborhoods and high traffic roadways.

Prenevost says a major concern for many residents is the lack of an emergency response plan for the evacuation of the 33,000 residents of West Lethbridge if required.

“In 2012, a disaster scale grass fire fueled by high winds made us very aware of the challenges facing an evacuation,” she says.

Letter writers were encouraged to address their concerns to Alberta Premier Alison Redford, the AER, Goldenkey Oil, local MLAs, members of the Opposition Parties, the provincial ministers for the Environment, Energy, Health and Transporation and the mayor and council of the City of Lethbridge.

Besides the letter writing campaign, The Black Spots have been holding public demonstrations throughout the city and have been circulating a petition to have urban drilling banned.

She says the group will continue to raise awareness of the issue and are looking for inspiration from other interest groups, such as the Knitting Nannies of Australia.

“We’re just a group of concerned citizens who feel we have to take action,” Prenevost says.

“This is an issue that affects all of us.”