Switching from epcor to enmax

[Cyle]

it seems like a scam but those fees are all approved by the governmet. we have to apply for a rate increase, which is based on previous years operating costs and future predictions. utility companies seem like they are for profit but they arnt really, their whole existance is to increase their assets. the more assest the higher the stock price. which comes from people adding new services or these large transmission projectstry working for these companies, as they are regulated monopolys the policy is that no one gets bonuses or anything over the top of your set wage. in the old days they would rip out the am radios as it seemed to the public that their money was being wasted, its hard now as trucks come pretty much fully loaded. even if all other compaies are making record profits and employees are taking home huge bonuses we get nothing but a stable job. on the other hand when these companies handing out the bonuses go under we will still have jobs.a new service for atco gas to install costs just the same ammount if you were to hire a crew to dig the ground and pipefitters/gassfitters youself. plus the cost of materials!people want underground wires and cables feeding their areas and homes. thats fine but 90% of those under ground services will require a hydrovac at $200-$300 an hour for multiple hours plus underground cables cost more than overhead. which is why underground power systems cost 3-4 times overhead

Atco won't let you put in your own gas line it has to be them. With the trench dug all they do is put in the pipe it was $5000, for all of a few hours work. I use to work for epcor I know they charge stupid stupid prices and most people wouldn't last at a private company working that hard. Utility company employees got a VERY good gravy train. The fact that the government approves in means nothing. Utility companies need that much because they can't manage a real company. Epcor would be bankrupt 100000x over if it was a private company that had competition because they do things so stupid and we pay for it on our bills. I won't pay more for a sled part from one company because their costs are to high for a product, utilities are only different because it's a monopoly.

 

[new_nytro]

Atco won't let you put in your own gas line it has to be them. With the trench dug all they do is put in the pipe it was $5000, for all of a few hours work. I use to work for epcor I know they charge stupid stupid prices and most people wouldn't last at a private company working that hard. Utility company employees got a VERY good gravy train. The fact that the government approves in means nothing. Utility companies need that much because they can't manage a real company. Epcor would be bankrupt 100000x over if it was a private company that had competition because they do things so stupid and we pay for it on our bills. I won't pay more for a sled part from one company because their costs are to high for a product, utilities are only different because it's a monopoly.

But you do have a choice for utilities. If you don't like Epcor go solar or wind powered and get off the grid. If you don't like ATCO Gas then go with wood or propane for heating. No utility is forcing you to use their service. The choice is yours.

 

[ZRrrr]

We recently went to the Enmax power deal. Looked good after a lot of research. What I did fine astounding was the "riders" portion of all bills. These are fees that can be put on for whatever reason by any of the utilities suppliers. Latest that boggle my mind...."weather adjustment rider" which when you look into it is a rider fee everyone pays to cover overtime due to cold weather slowing the workers down...REALLY!!?? One that really pissed a lot of people off was a rider that was put in place when ATCO was showing a pension fund liability. They tacked a rider on to the bill to cover the shortfall. Made all Albertans pay for it. "Interim shortfall rider", "defferal rider", all these strange riders that when you look into further, no one has a real answer as to what they actually are. Thank you deregulation!!

 

[bigz64]

Atco won't let you put in your own gas line it has to be them. With the trench dug all they do is put in the pipe it was $5000, for all of a few hours work. I use to work for epcor I know they charge stupid stupid prices and most people wouldn't last at a private company working that hard. Utility company employees got a VERY good gravy train. The fact that the government approves in means nothing. Utility companies need that much because they can't manage a real company. Epcor would be bankrupt 100000x over if it was a private company that had competition because they do things so stupid and we pay for it on our bills. I won't pay more for a sled part from one company because their costs are to high for a product, utilities are only different because it's a monopoly.

you cant compare a regular business of any kind to a utility, if they were for profit you would have $1000 power bill every month, then if you called in to complain you would pay $1500 the next month. because there is no one else to provied the service to your house and they have the power. they had competition in the past, they got bigger and bought them out which is where we sit today

the cost of utility equiptment and material is very expensive, im not sure about the natural gas side of things but your house meter could be anywhere between $150-$500 plus hundreds or thousands for the wire, plus a transformer... another couple thousand, the pole is probabaly the cheapest thing, but it needs a digger with a line crew at a few hunded an hour.

a simple big box store pays upwards of $100 000 for an electrical service, area dependant

i agree epcor has to many workers, i have friends that left as all they did was play cards and gain no electrical expeience. come to ft mcmurray work your ass off, under staffed and then managers say to do it all with no OT...

 

[bigz64]

We recently went to the Enmax power deal. Looked good after a lot of research. What I did fine astounding was the "riders" portion of all bills. These are fees that can be put on for whatever reason by any of the utilities suppliers. Latest that boggle my mind...."weather adjustment rider" which when you look into it is a rider fee everyone pays to cover overtime due to cold weather slowing the workers down...REALLY!!?? One that really pissed a lot of people off was a rider that was put in place when ATCO was showing a pension fund liability. They tacked a rider on to the bill to cover the shortfall. Made all Albertans pay for it. "Interim shortfall rider", "defferal rider", all these strange riders that when you look into further, no one has a real answer as to what they actually are. Thank you deregulation!!

those riders from what i know arnt approved, they put them in and if they are denied in the aproval process they will have to pay them back. aproval processes take years

 

[new_nytro]

We recently went to the Enmax power deal. Looked good after a lot of research. What I did fine astounding was the "riders" portion of all bills. These are fees that can be put on for whatever reason by any of the utilities suppliers. Latest that boggle my mind...."weather adjustment rider" which when you look into it is a rider fee everyone pays to cover overtime due to cold weather slowing the workers down...REALLY!!?? One that really pissed a lot of people off was a rider that was put in place when ATCO was showing a pension fund liability. They tacked a rider on to the bill to cover the shortfall. Made all Albertans pay for it. "Interim shortfall rider", "defferal rider", all these strange riders that when you look into further, no one has a real answer as to what they actually are. Thank you deregulation!!

Regulated distribution companies like ATCO Gas, ENMAX, Epcor, and Fortis get regulatory approval for their distribution rates in advance based upon a revenue requirement and aforecast of things like customer types, customer counts, customer growth/attrition, and so on. Their forecast is also based on "normal" weather so a winter that is significantly warmer or colder can have a dramatic impact on that forecast. A rider is only implemented when approved by the regulator (Alberta Utilities Commision) to collect or refund to customers any under or over collection based on the forecasted revenue requirement and rates.

Rider W is due to weather but not because it was slowing down workers. Rider W is actually a CREDIT to the customer due to an over-collection. A description of Rider W and other riders from ATCO Gas website at states:

"The Weather Deferral Account was created to account for the effect of temperature fluctuations on billings to customers. Rider W is being applied because the actual natural gas delivery revenue was higher than the normal natural gas delivery revenue, due to colder that expected temperatures. The rider will be in effect from August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012."

Again, these rider charges HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RETAILER or DEREGULATION. You will be paying these regardless of who you get your bill from. Riders are the product of a Regulated environment that currently exists for the transmission and distribution of energy in the province.

You should be saying "Thank you regulation!"

 

[ZRrrr]

There are 4 riders on my current bill. One is a credit and is the least dollar amount of them all. Some time doing research will show some vastly contrasting opinions on the validity of riders, the meaning, and deregulation. Not to mention the interesting information available about the rider that was implemented to top up the ATCO pension shortfall. As always, somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Just sayin'. Out.

 

[bigz64]

There are 4 riders on my current bill. One is a credit and is the least dollar amount of them all. Some time doing research will show some vastly contrasting opinions on the validity of riders, the meaning, and deregulation. Not to mention the interesting information available about the rider that was implemented to top up the ATCO pension shortfall. As always, somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Just sayin'. Out.

i have to retire sometime