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Fort McMurray Fire Red Cross Relief Efforts from Park Power

· · Leave a Comment Community Building, Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting

fire-graphic

The impact of the recent wildfire on the people from Fort McMurray is devastating. We all know of someone connected in one way or another in the Wood Buffalo area, or watch on TV the hardships that so many families facing as they try to escape the wildfires.  Park Power is providing an easy way for Albertan utility consumers to support the Fort McMurray Fire Red Cross Relief Efforts.

We are a small private company, retailing electricity, green energy and natural gas in Alberta as part of a network of boutique retailers. Within our network there are slightly over a thousand customers in Fort McMurray. Friday morning at 1 am our customer service centre received the first of probably many more emails or calls that we are sure will be similar to this one that came in; “I must cancel service with you because of a sad loss of a house in Fort McMurray fire. Please guide me through this process.”  

While the customer service team has been working hard to look after the affected customers, the development team has been updating our Application Form to set up Red Cross as a recipient for our donations.

One of the best ways to help people in Fort McMurray is by donating to the Red Cross.

That can be done by text or a phone call. People can also donate by visiting their offices, or donating money online on the Red Cross website. Canada’s Federal Government will match all private donations made to the Red Cross to help the thousands of people who have been displaced by the wildfires.Fort McMurray Red Cross Community Partner

Park Power has pledged to donate to the Red Cross Fort McMurray Fire Relief Efforts, 10% of our 2016 total income on the electricity consumed by customers of Park Power who choose the Canadian Red Cross as their Community Partner.

Additionally, through our Community Partner Program, Park Power has implemented an easy way for our customers to make a donation to the Red Cross through their monthly electricity bill.  As our customer you can just add an optional top up; $5, $10, or what ever you can afford to your monthly invoice.

Fort McMurray Red Cross Top Up

100% of all money collected will be donated to the Red Cross. There are zero admin fees associated with the donation and every penny raised will be donated on yours and Park Power’s behalf to the Red Cross. The Fort McMurray Red Cross Fire Relief customer top up program has been set up and will run to the end of 2016. If you want to opt in or out at any time you are totally free to do so but really this is a very simple and easy way to make a difference towards the recovery of Fort McMurray.

Please consider your fellow Albertans who have had their lives dramatically effected by this fire and support the Red Cross however you can.

We think we have a pretty good formula here – Provide an easy platform for Albertans to support the Fort McMurray Fire relief efforts while saving them money on their electricity and natural gas bills.

Show some #ALBERTASTRONG love with Park Power.

ALBERTASTRONG-Heart

Win This Rayne Misfortune Longboard

· · Leave a Comment Community Building, Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting, Solar Power

Subscribe to Park Power’s Newsletter before May 1st, 2016 to be entered to win this awesome Rayne Misfortune Longboard.

Rayne Longboard

 

 

 

 

 

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What is the Balancing Pool and a Power Purchase Arrangement?

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting

Recently Enmax, Direct Energy, and AltaGas have all exercised a right available to them in their Power Purchase Arrangements to opt out of the agreements and return them under the control of the Balancing Pool.  These actions will have impacts on consumers in the Alberta Utilities market who might be asking, “What is the Balancing Pool and a Power Purchase Arrangement”?

If your energy retailer is providing you with a proper breakdown of your charges, like ours below, you will see Balancing Pool Allocation as a line item on your electricity bills and wonder what it is doing there. For the most part consumers have been, like this example, receiving allocations or credits on their bill.

Charges breakdown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Balancing Pool was established in 1999 by the Government of Alberta to help manage and support the transition to a fair, efficient, and openly competitive electricity market in Alberta by performing the duties and responsibilities set out in its mandate including managing the risks and maximizing the value of the assets held on behalf of Alberta’s electricity consumers

The legislated duties of the Balancing Pool include:

  • To manage generation assets in a commercial manner, specifically any Power Purchase Arrangements (PPAs) held by the Balancing Pool that include the right to exchange electric energy and ancillary services, and any arrangements or agreements derived from these assets;
  • To hold the Hydro PPA and manage associated payments;
  • To forecast revenues and expenses (incorporating estimates of Pool price and potential expenses related to risk backstop activities) and allocate the forecast surplus or deficiency  to consumers through a Consumer Allocation or charge;
  • To participate in appropriate regulatory, dispute resolution and other proceedings and processes to protect the interests of the Balancing Pool and the value of its assets; and
  • To manage risks prudently in all aspects of its operations.

Now what does it mean that the Balancing Pool is responsible for the Power Purchase Arrangements? Well when the 3 large retailers opted out of their PPA’s, the financial responsibility to the coal fired generation assets became the Balancing Pools to manage.  The PPAs were long term fixed power price purchase arrangements initially set up and auctioned off to begin acting as market mechanisms on January 1, 2001 when the Alberta Utilities Market opened up for competition.  The existence and the fixed price nature of a PPAs for electricity provided market price stability for the owners of the generation assets.   It also added a level of market protection to consumers as well since wholesalers and retailers of electric energy had access to fixed contracted term rates for power as opposed to the wholesale spot market where the price changes constantly throughout the day. (as you can see in the image below)

System Marginal Price

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the Balancing Pool responsible for more assets a question that arises in our minds is, will the Balancing Pool Allocations that our customers have been seeing on their bills as credits start changing to Balancing Pool Charges? Perhaps, but not likely anytime soon.  According the 2014 Annual Report, since 2006, the total Consumer Allocation from the Balancing Pool to Alberta electricity consumers has exceeded $2.0 billion. The largest source of cash inflow to the Balancing Pool was from the sale of electricity and ancillary services from the Genesee and Hydro PPAs they hold.  So now that they will be holding more assets, it should mean more cash inflow and perhaps a continuation of allocations to consumers.

So even though the Alberta Government stated it was going to review Enmax’s decision to opt out of their PPA, conditions are still good for consumers to save money on their electricity bills.   The current market price for electricity is the cheapest it has ever been and forecasts have it remaining low in the near term.  Our customers on the Flow-Thru Rate plan, who have been paying 3-4 ¢/kWh for their electricity, are capitalizing on the savings available.  

Maybe it’s time you reviewed what you are paying make the switch to Park Power.

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How To Get A Cheaper Electricity & Natural Gas Bill In Alberta

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting, Uncategorized

How can you get a cheaper electricity & natural gas bill in Alberta?

Make a Better Choice and choose Park Power as your energy provider.  We can help you take advantage of the record low electricity prices in Alberta right now and help save you money.

Some consumers in Alberta might wonder how its possible that we can reduce our fixed electricity rates in Alberta by 10% heading into 2016 (from 6.3 ¢/kWh to 5.8 ¢/kWh).  Some will wonder why their Dec 2015 Regulated Rate Option (RRO) Rate was 5.3 ¢/kWh when Park Power’s Floating Rate was 3.6 ¢/kWh (32% less).

Park Power is a smaller, more nimble energy provider than our big corporate competitors. As such we are able to take advantage of the low wholesale power market prices more quickly than the cumbersome, traditional utility companies and pass the savings onto you.

Are there really savings to be had?  Well if you look at latest power market data below you will see that the average wholesale price for 2015 was $30.50/MW, the lowest yearly average settle price for electricity in Alberta since deregulation.  Have a look at what you are paying (¢/kWh) and compare to what you could be paying after you Sign Up with Park Power.

 

Power Market Stats

Overall, softening demand, added generating capacity, above normal temperatures, and relatively strong wind output resulted in historic low electricity prices in 2015.  Are you taking advantage of these consumer friendly market conditions? (for reference $33.34/MW works out to close to 3.6 ¢/kWh)

Customers can choose our low Floating Rate to take advantage of the savings offered right now and have peace of mind knowing that they can switch penalty free to one of our awesome and stable Fixed Rates should the wholesale market power price start to rise.  

Start 2016 off right by reducing your home utility costs while experiencing paperless billing, superior customer service, and profit sharing with local charities through our Community Partner Program.

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Why Is My Power Bill So High?

· · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting, Uncategorized

You may ask “Why is my power bill so high?”  Here at Park Power we want to explain how the structure of the Alberta utilities market affects your power bill and what you can do to reduce your costs.

In very simple terms consumers can lower their power bill in two ways, Use Less or Pay Less.

To use less consumers can lower their power bill by reducing their usage and increasing their efficiency. This will lower the amount of energy that a consumer gets billed for, both delivery (cost of distribution) and usage (cost of energy).

To pay less consumers can choose to pay a lower rate (¢/kWh) to their retailer for the cost of the energy they are using. Unfortunately, in Alberta consumers do not get to choose the rates for the cost of distribution.  Our existing transmission and distribution in Alberta is regulated by the Alberta Utilities Commission(AUC) under a cost-of-service model where consumers pay for the full costs of operating the system plus a reasonable return, and transmission owners are guaranteed these costs and a return on their investment.

The reality is that while companies in the de-regulated sectors of the market (generation & retailing) have brought the cost of electricity for the consumers down, it is the government regulated sectors of the market (transmission and distribution) that have consistently increased the cost of delivering the electricity to the consumers.  So if you hear politicians fear mongering about how deregulation is bad for consumers, read the following information and then inform your Member of the Legislative Assembly about what is really costing consumers of the Alberta Utilities market.

The Positive News: The cost of energy is at an all-time low(March, April, September 2015 were the 3 lowest months in history of deregulation). Under deregulation (and the competitive market structure), consumers are paying less today than they were in 2000.  There is no need to change existing policies and disrupt the competitive market, it is working and consumers are benefiting.  The only cost on the consumers utility bill that has actually gone down is the portion that was deregulated: the cost of energy.

The Problem: The cost of distribution has increased by 100% over the last 10 years.  Some consumers today are paying as much as 3 to 4 times for the regulated wires distribution fees compared to the cost of energy they consume.  (Remember this is the regulated part of the equation – and has absolutely NOTHING to do with deregulating the retail end of Alberta’s energy industry.)  Consumers in ATCO Territory are paying twice as much for distribution fees compared to rural consumers in the FortisAlberta Zone and over 300% more for the distribution services compared to a residential consumer in the city of Edmonton.

Delivery Charges and Rate Riders are complex, convoluted and difficult to understand but if you distill the rates down to what an average residential consumer has actually paid it is easy to see the problem.

Cost of Services in ¢/kWh

Franchise Wire Territory                                                                   2005                                  2010                                 2015                                                                Change

ATCO Territory                                                                                    7.5                                       10.6                                 15.9                                                                    112%

Fortis Territory                                                                                    4.0                                         6.1                                    8.3                                                                   108%

City of Calgary                                                                                      2.8                                         3.8                                   5.7                                                                    104%

City of Edmonton                                                                                3.0                                         4.0                                   4.7                                                                      5.7%

 

So if you want to pay less for the cost of your energy Sign Up with Park Power.

We offer both Fixed or Floating Rates that are lower than the large, traditional energy retailers.

Our Alberta based customer service is superior than the outsourced customer care centres of the other retailers. Even with our Fixed Rates, you will never be locked in and can cancel for free at anytime. Plus 10% of Park Power’s profits from your bill will be donated to the Community Partner of your choice. Try us out to Pay Less.

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