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Newsflash: Deregulation does nothing except help the energy suppliers. Consumers are generally out of luck and almost always get the short end of the stick.
The Conservatives in Alberta have deregulated the power distribution system. Has the market pushed down prices? NO. Alberta energy prices are some of the highest in the country. I am not sure how many times this has been said, then patently ignored by the alberta tories. Deregulation hurts consumers.
The Edmonton Journal occasionally squeaks its disapprobation at the most ludicrous government policy. For once they got it right…read the whole article below the fold. I’d link the article itself, but the Journal insists on some digital PDF nonsense.
Former chief consumer advocate
speaks out
Energy contracts shopped doorto-door in Alberta are a “ripoff” because consumers are being charged too much for electricity and natural gas, and have to spend hundreds of dollars to get out of them, a former official with the Utilities Consumer Advocate says.
David Gray, who last month stepped down from his post as the agency’s executive director, said Monday only 30 per cent of the province’s one million retail electricity consumers have switched to contracts.
“The biggest number of complaints we had at the Utilities Consumer Advocate were from people pressured into a contract at their door … and realizing after they got their bill what happened to them. Instead of saving money, their bills went up considerably, and if they wanted to cancel their contracts, they faced enormous penalties.”
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
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