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“I am at a loss to understand why deputy leader Sarah Hoffman would send out this media advisory without once talking to me, my office or our administration,” Edmonton mayor says
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Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi is bucking calls from the Alberta NDP to speak out publicly against the provincial moratorium on renewable energy approvals across the province.
In two letters released Wednesday, NDP deputy leader Sarah Hoffman said Sohi, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and their respective city councils need to join the Opposition’s demand the UCP government’s temporary pause on new wind and solar projects be lifted.
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“Both cities own utility companies that are directly impacted by this ban. Both cities are home to more than a million Albertans who will have to pay more on their power bills,” Hoffman said at a news conference.
In a statement to Postmedia, Sohi said he asked city administration last week to do an analysis on how the provincial ban might impact the city’s two power purchase agreements for renewable electricity.
“Once that analysis is completed, we will directly communicate with the province and the Alberta Utilities Commission,” said Sohi. “I am at a loss to understand why deputy leader Sarah Hoffman would send out this media advisory without once talking to me, my office or our administration.”
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The mayor pointed to the most recent Edmonton budget, which included $16 million for an energy transition strategy, $53 million to energy retrofit city facilities and $34.5 million supporting a district energy network strategy and nodes.
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Since the UCP announced the moratorium on renewable projects on Aug. 3, it has faced criticism for catching industry stakeholders off guard and putting billions of dollars of potential investment in the province at risk.
The policy applies to wind and solar power projects of more than one megawatt. It will last until Feb. 29 while the Alberta Utilities Commission conducts a review that will consider things like the impact on landscape views, site reclamation requirements and system reliability.
Smith, Trudeau often trying to ‘create battles’: Singh
Meanwhile on Wednesday, federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh spoke to reporters in Edmonton, calling Premier Danielle Smith’s refusal to get on board with the federal 2035 net-zero power grid plan a distraction from the work that needs to be done to make electricity more reliable and affordable.
“We want to work with provinces and territories. I find often that what Danielle Smith is trying to do, and frankly (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau is trying to do, is create battles between provinces and the federal government,” he said.
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Alberta and three other provinces have said draft federal regulations released last week aren’t feasible, with Smith saying they are unconstitutional and will lead to skyrocketing power prices.
“We will never allow these regulations to be implemented here, full stop,” said Smith on Monday. The province has committed to carbon neutrality by 2050.
The six remaining provinces are more than 90 per cent of the way to the net-zero grid goal.
While Singh said he supports the 2035 target, he argued the Liberals haven’t offered a clear plan nor the supports necessary to achieve their goals.
“They haven’t met any targets they’ve set,” he said.
Singh capped off his three-day visit to the city by addressing researchers and participants at the Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology (WISEST) summer research program at the University of Alberta.
lijohnson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/reportrix
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