First article is news from last November where-in TransAlta declares their true corporate spirit! The second article is a letter to editor from Joe Anglin, about how power costs stack up - a must read... and spread the LTE around for all to see!
1.TransAlta Corp. admits to market manipulation - Utility fined $370,000 for bending power trade strategy rules
CALGARY — TransAlta Corp. faces paying the highest penalty in Alberta’s history after admitting to manipulating power prices last year but critics say the $370,000 fine is a pittance compared to an estimated $5.5 million consumers paid in inflated costs.
TransAlta, which controls 16 per cent of Alberta’s commercial power, admitted to purposely blocking the import of cheaper hydroelectric power from British Columbia over 31 hours last November, creating an artificial shortage of electricity — and higher prices.
A settlement agreement negotiated with Alberta’s energy market monitor pegged TransAlta’s profits for the trades at $245,000 — the difference between the inflated price and what it would have been without the push... [for full article go to: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/TransAlta Corp admits market manipulation/5671487/story.html
Here's an excellent Letter to the Editor from Joe Anglin. Saw his presentation in Hanna on the 6th, and it was very informative.
2. How's that electric bill working for you now? (as seen Vegreville Advisor)
It’s difficult for most Albertans to decipher the complexities of Alberta’s deregulated electricity system, but it is not difficult to conclude that our so-called market based electricity system is not working. One only needs to read the bottom line of last month’s electricity bill for confirmation.
Albertans were told sixteen years ago that it was in our best interest to dismantle one of the best-regulated electricity systems in North America for a market based system that would lower the price of electricity. So how much longer do we wait?
Over the last couple of weeks industry representatives provided testimony to Premier Redford’s “Transmission Review Committee” hearings. The Alberta Electric Systems Operator (AESO) and other industry representatives praised our market-based system as a shining example of the success of deregulation. I have a question for these representatives ~ “What market based system?”
The AESO prices electricity approximately every two hours for Alberta’s wholesale electricity market. Every two hours generators offer to sell their electricity based on market demand. This is how the price is set, and it is called the stacking order. The stacking order is a simple creation of the AESO, and it favours the generators and transmission line companies at the expense of the average consumer. For example:
When the AESO requires 8,000 megawatts (MW) to supply the market for the next two hours, hydroelectric power might offer to provide 4000 MW of electricity to Alberta’s market for FREE. Coal generators might offer to sell 3800MW for $45 dollars a megawatt. The remaining 200MW might be provided (bid) to the market by other suppliers for $450 a megawatt. This completes the total 8000MW required by the AESO to meet the expected demand.
AESO accepts hydro’s offer first, and then accepts coal’s offer and so on. This is called stacking. How is this price passed along to the consumer? All the generation suppliers (hydro, coal, and the other suppliers) get paid the top rate of $450 a megawatt ~ regardless of what price they were willing to sell to the market! In this example, Alberta’s consumers don’t get the benefit of FREE hydroelectric power. Alberta’s consumers don’t get the benefit of $45 a megawatt from coal electricity. As long as demand remains close to the 8000MW level for the next two hours, consumers pay the full price as if the total 8,000MW cost $450 a megawatt, even though 50% of the electricity was offered for FREE and another 47.5% was offered for $45 a megawatt!
If this wasn’t bad enough, when hydro and co-generated electricity in Alberta drive the wholesale price of electricity to $0MW (FREE), the AESO interferes and clears the market (cancels all bids). The bidding process then starts over again.
Alberta’s electricity system is not a market-based system. It is a scam that guarantees the maximum price for the lowest cost electricity! Consumers are victimized by this pricing mechanism. Alberta didn’t move to a deregulated system. Alberta went from a regulated system to a rigged system, and it’s time we unrigged Alberta’s electricity market!
Joe Anglin
Rimbey, Alberta
1.TransAlta Corp. admits to market manipulation - Utility fined $370,000 for bending power trade strategy rules
CALGARY — TransAlta Corp. faces paying the highest penalty in Alberta’s history after admitting to manipulating power prices last year but critics say the $370,000 fine is a pittance compared to an estimated $5.5 million consumers paid in inflated costs.
TransAlta, which controls 16 per cent of Alberta’s commercial power, admitted to purposely blocking the import of cheaper hydroelectric power from British Columbia over 31 hours last November, creating an artificial shortage of electricity — and higher prices.
A settlement agreement negotiated with Alberta’s energy market monitor pegged TransAlta’s profits for the trades at $245,000 — the difference between the inflated price and what it would have been without the push... [for full article go to: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/TransAlta Corp admits market manipulation/5671487/story.html
Here's an excellent Letter to the Editor from Joe Anglin. Saw his presentation in Hanna on the 6th, and it was very informative.
2. How's that electric bill working for you now? (as seen Vegreville Advisor)
It’s difficult for most Albertans to decipher the complexities of Alberta’s deregulated electricity system, but it is not difficult to conclude that our so-called market based electricity system is not working. One only needs to read the bottom line of last month’s electricity bill for confirmation.
Albertans were told sixteen years ago that it was in our best interest to dismantle one of the best-regulated electricity systems in North America for a market based system that would lower the price of electricity. So how much longer do we wait?
Over the last couple of weeks industry representatives provided testimony to Premier Redford’s “Transmission Review Committee” hearings. The Alberta Electric Systems Operator (AESO) and other industry representatives praised our market-based system as a shining example of the success of deregulation. I have a question for these representatives ~ “What market based system?”
The AESO prices electricity approximately every two hours for Alberta’s wholesale electricity market. Every two hours generators offer to sell their electricity based on market demand. This is how the price is set, and it is called the stacking order. The stacking order is a simple creation of the AESO, and it favours the generators and transmission line companies at the expense of the average consumer. For example:
When the AESO requires 8,000 megawatts (MW) to supply the market for the next two hours, hydroelectric power might offer to provide 4000 MW of electricity to Alberta’s market for FREE. Coal generators might offer to sell 3800MW for $45 dollars a megawatt. The remaining 200MW might be provided (bid) to the market by other suppliers for $450 a megawatt. This completes the total 8000MW required by the AESO to meet the expected demand.
AESO accepts hydro’s offer first, and then accepts coal’s offer and so on. This is called stacking. How is this price passed along to the consumer? All the generation suppliers (hydro, coal, and the other suppliers) get paid the top rate of $450 a megawatt ~ regardless of what price they were willing to sell to the market! In this example, Alberta’s consumers don’t get the benefit of FREE hydroelectric power. Alberta’s consumers don’t get the benefit of $45 a megawatt from coal electricity. As long as demand remains close to the 8000MW level for the next two hours, consumers pay the full price as if the total 8,000MW cost $450 a megawatt, even though 50% of the electricity was offered for FREE and another 47.5% was offered for $45 a megawatt!
If this wasn’t bad enough, when hydro and co-generated electricity in Alberta drive the wholesale price of electricity to $0MW (FREE), the AESO interferes and clears the market (cancels all bids). The bidding process then starts over again.
Alberta’s electricity system is not a market-based system. It is a scam that guarantees the maximum price for the lowest cost electricity! Consumers are victimized by this pricing mechanism. Alberta didn’t move to a deregulated system. Alberta went from a regulated system to a rigged system, and it’s time we unrigged Alberta’s electricity market!
Joe Anglin
Rimbey, Alberta
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