ATCO Electric fined $3M for unearned rate increases, overstating its costs

A salient Alberta institution has agreed to salary $3 cardinal successful fines for misleading nan province’s utilities watchdog astir its costs successful 2 abstracted projects.

ATCO Electric has besides agreed to refund $4 cardinal successful recompense for unearned complaint increases, a woody that now goes earlier nan Alberta Utilities Commission for approval.

“ATCO Electric admits that it has contravened nan Electric Utilities Act,” says an agreed connection of facts released by nan commission.

The contraventions interest 2 transactions betwixt 2013 and 2017. Both impact ATCO misrepresenting its expenses, which are utilized by nan committee to group inferior rates.

In one, nan Calgary-based institution reported costs 3 years earlier incurring them. In its complaint applications for 2015 to 2017, it reported astir $90 cardinal worthy of expenses to nan committee though it didn’t salary that measure until April 2018.

That meant Alberta consumers began paying a complaint summation successful 2015 to compensate ATCO for a tab nan institution hadn’t yet covered, giving it 3 years of profit.

“Enforcement staff’s position is that it was inappropriate for ATCO Electric to gain a return connected nan (reported cost), funded by Alberta ratepayers, for a play of 3 years earlier ATCO Electric expended those funds,” says nan statement.

It says an ATCO head pointed retired successful 2018 that nan committee was apt to raise questions astir nan costs item.

In nan 2nd instance, nan institution inflated nan costs of accommodation astatine a building site. The connection says ATCO overstated nan number of rooms it was paying for done its acquisition of a activity campy astatine Beaver River successful east-central Alberta.

While ATCO claimed it had paid for nan balanced of 56,356 nights, nan connection says nan existent number was 25,805.

“ATCO Electric acknowledges that ATCO Electric did not meet its work of candour successful respect of nan Beaver River Camp issue,” nan connection says.

The committee must now determine whether nan colony reached by ATCO and nan investigators is successful nan nationalist interest.

“The committee useful difficult to guarantee that only morganatic costs are reflected successful nan complaint that group person to pay,” said committee spokesperson Geoff Scotton. “People do person to salary nan morganatic costs, but only nan morganatic costs.”

The committee made different uncovering against ATCO past year.

In April 2023, nan committee said ATCO Electric must refund astir $16 cardinal to nan Alberta Electric System Operator, arsenic good arsenic salary a $31-million fine, complete costs that nan institution tried to retrieve from nan building of a powerfulness statement done Jasper National Park.

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The committee noted ATCO’s practices person improved since then.

“ATCO and ATCO Electric person made important changes to ATCO Electric’s compliance programme since nan Jasper enforcement determination and proceed to make improvements,” nan connection says.

It notes that nan caller contraventions came to ray aft an soul whistleblower raised concerns. ATCO past hired Deloitte to behaviour a probe and its results were turned complete to nan commission’s investigators.

“ATCO conducted thorough and timely investigations … of each of nan issues raised by nan (whistleblower).”

Still, Jim Wachowich of nan defense group Consumers’ Coalition of Alberta said nan company’s adjacent complaint exertion will carnivore watching. He said he’ll beryllium evaluating whether ATCO lives up to nan promises it made aft nan Jasper determination and really wholly it discloses costs.

“(We’ll look at) really focused, deliberate and intentional are they successful their disclosures erstwhile we inquire questions astir costs,” he said.

In a statement, ATCO spokesperson Kurt Kadatz said nan institution is committed to ethical practices.

“ATCO is co-operating pinch nan AUC to guarantee these matters are reviewed and addressed and we are committed to implementing immoderate basal corrective measures. We stay committed to ensuring our policies and actions are champion successful people and beyond reproach.”