Exploring a Municipally Controlled Corporation

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Watch for this page to evolve!

About the project

The City of Medicine Hat is exploring the possibility of transitioning our distribution and electric generation energy governance to a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC) with a Rate Review Committee.

This comes from an extensive third-party review of the governance structure and overall business philosophy for the City’s current energy business. The Review will help the City decide on a business model that is intended to deliver optimal value for the community in light of changing community and external circumstances.

After extensive analysis of three models chosen by KPMG, (status quo, MCC, divestment), KPMG LLP recommended a MCC governance structure. Administration supported this recommendation and City Council directed administration to work with KPMG to conduct further analysis.

Currently, KPMG is working with the City to develop a proposed implementation plan that will support a better understanding of the costs, benefits, changes, and realities of a possible transition to an MCC model.

On May 20, City Council heard a presentation on the MCC and what implementation could look like. This 1 hour 46 minute presentation from the energy team is the most current information, and a great place to start!


Important context

Medicine Hat’s energy business has been central to its identity since the early 1900s, providing employment, affordable and reliable services, and a steady source of municipal revenue. Its success epitomizes the City’s strength, independence and ingenuity, and is a significant source of community pride.

The conditions under which the energy business flourished are changing:

  • Local natural gas production is declining.
  • Alberta’s electricity market is undergoing significant reforms.
  • The transition to a low-carbon economy and power system, in addition to the federal Clean Electricity Regulation, will impact the City’s ability to economically generate electricity with its natural gas units.



On Sept. 5, 2023, City Council directed administration to convene an independent, third-party review of the City’s energy business. The catalyst for the study and analysis was the significant increase in rates during the summer of 2023. The City responded to community input by investing $33M in cost relief to consumers, interim rates, and commissioned the KPMG energy review to determine a strategic approach to changing energy business conditions.

The energy review included reviewing the City's:

  • rate setting approach,
  • what business model is most appropriate,
  • the best strategic approach to ensure optimal value for the community,
  • and the implications of a changing energy market (e.g., declining natural gas production, energy transition regulatory requirements, electricity market changes, and increased community interest).

KPMG chose to evaluate three models after considering the energy business current state and outlook:

  1. Status quo
  2. Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC)
  3. Divestiture
Based on the five criteria:
  1. financial value and capital costs,
  2. service delivery,
  3. risk,
  4. rates,
  5. and implementation.
A MCC model scored the best for electricity generation, electricity distribution, and natural gas distribution businesses, but not natural gas generation. You can read KPMG's report here.

Within the energy review, KPMG also evaluated the following elements within the three models:

  • Ownership model: business model; governance model
  • Electric Utilities Acts and other regulatory constraints and considerations
  • Potential benefits and impacts related to rate and dividend
  • Energy transition requirements
  • Overall strategic approach to ensure best value to the community
  • Competing trade-offs and complexities including short and long-term interests of the business, municipality, ratepayer, and taxpayer
  • Other relevant considerations

Importantly, in 2021, the City explored the market value of its electric generation assets. Emerging from this was a sentiment that there are long-term benefits to owning our own utilities. City ownership of its utilities is important and an MCC model retains City ownership and its valued Electric Utilities Act exemption.

KPMG's recommendation comes with four strategic actions, if an MCC model were to be implemented:

  1. Establish a rate review committee to support Council in its role of approving energy distribution and commodity rates.
  2. Increase the focus on expediting the abandonment or sale of the natural gas production assets.
  3. Establish an MCC to own and operate the distribution businesses (both natural gas and electricity) and electricity generation business.
  4. Develop a dividend policy, and stipulate investment parameters in the unanimous shareholder agreement.

City Council has approved the development of an implementation plan to better understand what the establishment of a MCC for its energy business might look like.

The forthcoming implementation plan will include:

  • The services the corporation intends to provide
  • The names of the shareholders of the corporation
  • The geographic locations in and outside Alberta in which the corporation intends to provide services
  • A projected utility rate structure
  • A market impact analysis

For the most current information, watch the City Council update on the implementation plan!


The resulting plan, came before Council on May 20, 2025. City Council approved a motion directing administration to proceed to arrange, in accordance with legislated requirements, a public hearing regarding the potential incorporation of a municipally controlled corporation (MCC), with the City as sole shareholder, that would operate the City’s electric generation, electric distribution and gas distribution business units (and the supporting energy marketing and business analysis function).

The public hearing will take place on June 24, 2025 at 4 p.m. at City Hall in Council Chambers. No decisions have been made yet.

4 strategic actions to be explored further

1. Municipally Controlled Corporation

A few well-known Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC) models exist in Alberta, notably EPCOR and ENMAX. ENMAX, a municipally controlled corporation, owned solely by the City of Calgary, has a board with relevant expertise to manage its energy business interests, which are increasingly complex. Red Deer is also exploring moving to a MCC model for its electric utility business.

Benefits of an MCC:

  • Improved governance
  • Increased financial accountability and transparency
  • Improved access to capital
  • On-going value to the City through dividends from distribution revenues
  • Maintained competitive rates
  • Limit the City’s liability and protect taxpayers from financial risk
  • Ease the burden on Council and free up time for Council to focus on other important matters

Explore the FAQs to for answers to common questions about an MCC.


2. Rate Review Committee

In conjunction with an MCC, the City would establish a Rate Review Committee (RRC) that would be comprised of individuals with relevant experience to support the rate-setting process and recommendations.

The committee would follow industry-accepted rate design practices to recommend fair and competitive rates for ratepayers. Rates would reflect the distribution businesses' needs for consistent and industry-appropriate returns. City Council could delegate rate approvals to the RRC to separate the role of Council and the rate regulator. Alternatively, the committee could provide recommendations to Council for approval.

Benefits of an RRC:
  • Help to delineate Council’s conflicting role of protecting both ratepayer and shareholder interests
  • Provide more structure to the rate setting process
  • Increase transparency around rate setting
  • Improve access to technical expertise in rate-setting

Explore the FAQs to for answers to common questions about an RRC.


3. Dividend Policy

A dividend policy would be a key component of a broader set of policies, which along with a mandatory unanimous shareholder agreement, would outline the roles, responsibilities, authorities, and relationships between entities. The City would also include guidelines for energy business investments in the unanimous shareholder agreement.

Benefits of a Dividend Policy:
  • Protects the financial sustainability of the MCC
  • Provides the City with a predictable dividend and a process to assess any investment requirements.

Explore the FAQs to for answers to common questions about a dividend policy.


4. Divestment in natural gas production

As part of the strategic energy business review, KPMG identified the City should increase focus on expediting the abandonment or sale of the natural gas production assets. As natural gas production business is in wind down, there would be no value in transferring it to an MCC. Work on this recommendation is underway separately.


What's the benefit of these 4 strategic actions?

The four strategic actions (MCC, RRC, dividend policy, and divestment of natural gas production) should provide the focused and informed oversight, and greater access to financing that energy business will need to navigate regulatory and market uncertainty.

Create Value By promoting positive investment decisions, and by leveraging new sources of financing, the MCC structure could enhance the long-term viability and profitability of the energy business, potentially increasing returns to the municipality and benefiting the community as a whole.
Additional Checks & Balances Strengthened governance and oversight from an independent, skills-based board, the MCC structure could provide more focused and informed oversight over the direction, risks, and performance of the energy business.
Reduce Risk Exposure An MCC could reduce the City’s direct risk exposure through enhanced governance, improved capital access, and more predictable cash flows.
Minimize Conflicting Roles Separating energy business decision-making from the City allows for specialized expertise to maximize value on behalf of the City, while enabling the City to focus its capital expenditures on essential municipal services. At present, City Council must wear 'three hats' to balance the interests (‘three hats’) of community (taxpayers), ratepayers and the long-term sustainability of the energy business. A rate review committee could support fair rates for the rate payer in addition to an MCC board maximizing value for the energy business.


Why is the City considering this?

The basis of how we approach decision making on these and other energy topics is to drive value for our community by:

  • Ensuring delivery of cost competitive, reliable, compliant energy to local customers (to protect and grow our economy);
  • Providing sustainable profits from the Energy Business back to CMH, and if not viable, transition to external source(s);
  • Managing the transition risk to protect our taxpayers from shouldering any unintended transition liability.

The City’s energy business is faced with a changing market and regulatory landscape that will significantly impact its business, increasing the risk to the profitability of its electricity generation and natural gas production business units.

  1. Declining natural gas production and retirement obligations
  2. New Regulations will impose costs with a significant financial impact.
  3. The City's current governance model may be sub-optimizing business value


Declining natural gas production and retirement obligations

Historically, the natural gas production business was profitable, but it is now facing the high costs of asset retirement obligations (AROs), and significantly declining production.

In recent years, the energy business has been highly reliant on profits from electricity generation, however this profitability is at risk because:

  • The Alberta power market is undergoing changes.
  • The City’s natural gas-fired generation fleet is becoming less competitive relative to the market.
  • The City's Greenhouse Gases compliance costs are increasing significantly.

Achieving a fair and appropriate return on rate base will likely be a priority for the distribution businesses as they need to invest significantly in growth and sustaining capital over the next 10 years.


Evolving Regulations

Market design changes and evolving regulations create a level of uncertainty in the power market. With broad efforts to reduce emissions, greenhouse gas compliance costs are increasing, exerting a significant financial impact on operations over time.

The provincial Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) Regulation imposes greenhouse gas penalties that can be offset by investing in emission reduction projects, but even those offsets become increasingly expensive as time progresses. The federal Clean Electricity Regulation (CER), as it currently stands, sets emission limits that must be achieved by 2035, and even further by 2050. City-owned natural gas-fired power generation assets are at risk of forced or uneconomic shutdown unless viable mitigation solutions are found.

The required capital identified by the energy business is approximately $490 million over the next years to sustain and grow the business (value reflects 2024 budget forecasts for 2025-2032). This amount does not include investment that could be required for energy transition, which could be substantial.


Optimizing governance model to drive business value

The City's current governance model may be sub-optimizing business value. Medicine Hat's City Council is unique in that it must balance the interests of taxpayers, ratepayers, and the long-term sustainability of the energy business. Due to the reality of elections, City Councils do not naturally have energy and utility-focused technical expertise and lack the independence to perform their functions as rate regulator and board of directors.

The energy market is highly volatile, and this risk profile is not typical of a municipality. Importantly, the energy business is subject to the City's policies and processes. Municipal financial processes do not support decision-making required for managing the energy business, such as:

  • Capital projects are approved as part of the City's overall capital budgeting process, not on their merits to the energy business or their potential impacts to rates.
  • Financial statements are based on municipal accounting practices. For example, expense items include transfers to capital, and commodity revenue is not reflected in the distribution businesses, dividends are accounted for as a series of transfers.

Complexity is expected to grow in the industry due to changes in the Alberta power market and energy transition regulatory changes requiring a high-level of expertise in the energy sector.


What's the City's overall energy strategy?

The Energy Business Review, MCC model recommendation, and associated exploration is a process that will help City Council decide on a business model that is intended to deliver optimal value for the community in light of changing community and external circumstances.

This process fits into a broader strategy—a need to adapt the City's energy strategy—to maintain its competitiveness for ratepayers, shelter the taxpayer from potential financial losses, and meet the changing demands of the 21st century.

  • Sustaining investments, so long as economically viable and compliant; use credits and explore emissions abatement solutions
  • Diversify if/when economically favourable, in scaled and affordable phases
  • (Slowly) prepare for longer term electrification and heating alternatives/fuel blending
  • Optimize existing production through wind down; assess upside options
  • Monitor advancements and pursue studies and pilots to learn more
  • Energy Business Review and financial planning to ensure tools are available and best value for community
  • Monitor and influence policy and regulatory changes; seek grants to assist with any early steps
  • Regional Carbon Capture, Usage, and Storage Hub; education and engagement prioritizing large customers who may face greatest impact of change; allocation of firm supply, and/or system investment

The City's energy strategy is complex and is informed by many factors. Read more about City's Energy Strategy.


How can you influence this project?

Council has approved the development of an implementation plan for the establishment of a MCC for its energy business. The resulting plan will be used to inform future Council decisions on establishing an MCC.

Before City Council can trigger implement of an MCC, the municipality must disclose the following 30 days prior to a public hearing (scheduled for June 24):

  • The services the corporation intends to provide
  • The names of the shareholders of the corporation
  • The geographic locations in and outside Alberta in which the corporation intends to provide services
  • A projected utility rate structure
  • A market impact analysis

Before City Council can trigger implement of an MCC, you would then have an opportunity to present to City Council at a public hearing.

The process of establishing an MCC is subject to provincial legislative requirements under the Alberta Municipal Government Act (MGA) and the Municipally Controlled Corporations Regulation (MCCR).

The City is sharing information about this potential governance structure change leading up to a public hearing on Tuesday, June 24 starting at 4 p.m., City Council Chambers, City Hall. Submissions (written or oral) in support or opposition of the MCC model are welcome.

In preparation for the public hearing and information sessions, we recommend watching this one and hour hour long segment from the May 20 City Council meeting where the energy team outlines the Municipally Controlled Corporation business structure, value proposition, Rate Review Committee structure, unanimous shareholder agreement, and the process for this proposal.

That video segment includes all above-mentioned disclosure requirements.

Public goals while exploring whether an MCC model is the right fit for the City's energy business include:

  • Provide balanced accessible information about this project and its potential merits
  • Provide an avenue for public input following legislative requirements
  • Raise awareness of the project and its potential impact
  • Connect with the public and key interest groups

How can you get involved?

Read through the information on this page to fully inform yourself of this project.


Use the Q&A tool below to ask your questions online to the project team.


Attend an information session

1. In-person Q&A, Friday, June 6 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Helen Beny Lounge, City Hall

2. Online Q&A, Wednesday, June 11 from 5 to 6 p.m., virtual Teams presentation


Participate in the public hearing

Tuesday, June 24 starting at 4 p.m., City Council Chambers, City Hall. Submissions (written or oral) in support or opposition of the MCC model are welcome.

The information and tools available on this project page, as well as forthcoming information and events, are intended to support learning and understanding around this important strategic decision for the City's energy business.

Watch for this page to evolve!

About the project

The City of Medicine Hat is exploring the possibility of transitioning our distribution and electric generation energy governance to a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC) with a Rate Review Committee.

This comes from an extensive third-party review of the governance structure and overall business philosophy for the City’s current energy business. The Review will help the City decide on a business model that is intended to deliver optimal value for the community in light of changing community and external circumstances.

After extensive analysis of three models chosen by KPMG, (status quo, MCC, divestment), KPMG LLP recommended a MCC governance structure. Administration supported this recommendation and City Council directed administration to work with KPMG to conduct further analysis.

Currently, KPMG is working with the City to develop a proposed implementation plan that will support a better understanding of the costs, benefits, changes, and realities of a possible transition to an MCC model.

On May 20, City Council heard a presentation on the MCC and what implementation could look like. This 1 hour 46 minute presentation from the energy team is the most current information, and a great place to start!


Important context

Medicine Hat’s energy business has been central to its identity since the early 1900s, providing employment, affordable and reliable services, and a steady source of municipal revenue. Its success epitomizes the City’s strength, independence and ingenuity, and is a significant source of community pride.

The conditions under which the energy business flourished are changing:

  • Local natural gas production is declining.
  • Alberta’s electricity market is undergoing significant reforms.
  • The transition to a low-carbon economy and power system, in addition to the federal Clean Electricity Regulation, will impact the City’s ability to economically generate electricity with its natural gas units.



On Sept. 5, 2023, City Council directed administration to convene an independent, third-party review of the City’s energy business. The catalyst for the study and analysis was the significant increase in rates during the summer of 2023. The City responded to community input by investing $33M in cost relief to consumers, interim rates, and commissioned the KPMG energy review to determine a strategic approach to changing energy business conditions.

The energy review included reviewing the City's:

  • rate setting approach,
  • what business model is most appropriate,
  • the best strategic approach to ensure optimal value for the community,
  • and the implications of a changing energy market (e.g., declining natural gas production, energy transition regulatory requirements, electricity market changes, and increased community interest).

KPMG chose to evaluate three models after considering the energy business current state and outlook:

  1. Status quo
  2. Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC)
  3. Divestiture
Based on the five criteria:
  1. financial value and capital costs,
  2. service delivery,
  3. risk,
  4. rates,
  5. and implementation.
A MCC model scored the best for electricity generation, electricity distribution, and natural gas distribution businesses, but not natural gas generation. You can read KPMG's report here.

Within the energy review, KPMG also evaluated the following elements within the three models:

  • Ownership model: business model; governance model
  • Electric Utilities Acts and other regulatory constraints and considerations
  • Potential benefits and impacts related to rate and dividend
  • Energy transition requirements
  • Overall strategic approach to ensure best value to the community
  • Competing trade-offs and complexities including short and long-term interests of the business, municipality, ratepayer, and taxpayer
  • Other relevant considerations

Importantly, in 2021, the City explored the market value of its electric generation assets. Emerging from this was a sentiment that there are long-term benefits to owning our own utilities. City ownership of its utilities is important and an MCC model retains City ownership and its valued Electric Utilities Act exemption.

KPMG's recommendation comes with four strategic actions, if an MCC model were to be implemented:

  1. Establish a rate review committee to support Council in its role of approving energy distribution and commodity rates.
  2. Increase the focus on expediting the abandonment or sale of the natural gas production assets.
  3. Establish an MCC to own and operate the distribution businesses (both natural gas and electricity) and electricity generation business.
  4. Develop a dividend policy, and stipulate investment parameters in the unanimous shareholder agreement.

City Council has approved the development of an implementation plan to better understand what the establishment of a MCC for its energy business might look like.

The forthcoming implementation plan will include:

  • The services the corporation intends to provide
  • The names of the shareholders of the corporation
  • The geographic locations in and outside Alberta in which the corporation intends to provide services
  • A projected utility rate structure
  • A market impact analysis

For the most current information, watch the City Council update on the implementation plan!


The resulting plan, came before Council on May 20, 2025. City Council approved a motion directing administration to proceed to arrange, in accordance with legislated requirements, a public hearing regarding the potential incorporation of a municipally controlled corporation (MCC), with the City as sole shareholder, that would operate the City’s electric generation, electric distribution and gas distribution business units (and the supporting energy marketing and business analysis function).

The public hearing will take place on June 24, 2025 at 4 p.m. at City Hall in Council Chambers. No decisions have been made yet.

4 strategic actions to be explored further

1. Municipally Controlled Corporation

A few well-known Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC) models exist in Alberta, notably EPCOR and ENMAX. ENMAX, a municipally controlled corporation, owned solely by the City of Calgary, has a board with relevant expertise to manage its energy business interests, which are increasingly complex. Red Deer is also exploring moving to a MCC model for its electric utility business.

Benefits of an MCC:

  • Improved governance
  • Increased financial accountability and transparency
  • Improved access to capital
  • On-going value to the City through dividends from distribution revenues
  • Maintained competitive rates
  • Limit the City’s liability and protect taxpayers from financial risk
  • Ease the burden on Council and free up time for Council to focus on other important matters

Explore the FAQs to for answers to common questions about an MCC.


2. Rate Review Committee

In conjunction with an MCC, the City would establish a Rate Review Committee (RRC) that would be comprised of individuals with relevant experience to support the rate-setting process and recommendations.

The committee would follow industry-accepted rate design practices to recommend fair and competitive rates for ratepayers. Rates would reflect the distribution businesses' needs for consistent and industry-appropriate returns. City Council could delegate rate approvals to the RRC to separate the role of Council and the rate regulator. Alternatively, the committee could provide recommendations to Council for approval.

Benefits of an RRC:
  • Help to delineate Council’s conflicting role of protecting both ratepayer and shareholder interests
  • Provide more structure to the rate setting process
  • Increase transparency around rate setting
  • Improve access to technical expertise in rate-setting

Explore the FAQs to for answers to common questions about an RRC.


3. Dividend Policy

A dividend policy would be a key component of a broader set of policies, which along with a mandatory unanimous shareholder agreement, would outline the roles, responsibilities, authorities, and relationships between entities. The City would also include guidelines for energy business investments in the unanimous shareholder agreement.

Benefits of a Dividend Policy:
  • Protects the financial sustainability of the MCC
  • Provides the City with a predictable dividend and a process to assess any investment requirements.

Explore the FAQs to for answers to common questions about a dividend policy.


4. Divestment in natural gas production

As part of the strategic energy business review, KPMG identified the City should increase focus on expediting the abandonment or sale of the natural gas production assets. As natural gas production business is in wind down, there would be no value in transferring it to an MCC. Work on this recommendation is underway separately.


What's the benefit of these 4 strategic actions?

The four strategic actions (MCC, RRC, dividend policy, and divestment of natural gas production) should provide the focused and informed oversight, and greater access to financing that energy business will need to navigate regulatory and market uncertainty.

Create Value By promoting positive investment decisions, and by leveraging new sources of financing, the MCC structure could enhance the long-term viability and profitability of the energy business, potentially increasing returns to the municipality and benefiting the community as a whole.
Additional Checks & Balances Strengthened governance and oversight from an independent, skills-based board, the MCC structure could provide more focused and informed oversight over the direction, risks, and performance of the energy business.
Reduce Risk Exposure An MCC could reduce the City’s direct risk exposure through enhanced governance, improved capital access, and more predictable cash flows.
Minimize Conflicting Roles Separating energy business decision-making from the City allows for specialized expertise to maximize value on behalf of the City, while enabling the City to focus its capital expenditures on essential municipal services. At present, City Council must wear 'three hats' to balance the interests (‘three hats’) of community (taxpayers), ratepayers and the long-term sustainability of the energy business. A rate review committee could support fair rates for the rate payer in addition to an MCC board maximizing value for the energy business.


Why is the City considering this?

The basis of how we approach decision making on these and other energy topics is to drive value for our community by:

  • Ensuring delivery of cost competitive, reliable, compliant energy to local customers (to protect and grow our economy);
  • Providing sustainable profits from the Energy Business back to CMH, and if not viable, transition to external source(s);
  • Managing the transition risk to protect our taxpayers from shouldering any unintended transition liability.

The City’s energy business is faced with a changing market and regulatory landscape that will significantly impact its business, increasing the risk to the profitability of its electricity generation and natural gas production business units.

  1. Declining natural gas production and retirement obligations
  2. New Regulations will impose costs with a significant financial impact.
  3. The City's current governance model may be sub-optimizing business value


Declining natural gas production and retirement obligations

Historically, the natural gas production business was profitable, but it is now facing the high costs of asset retirement obligations (AROs), and significantly declining production.

In recent years, the energy business has been highly reliant on profits from electricity generation, however this profitability is at risk because:

  • The Alberta power market is undergoing changes.
  • The City’s natural gas-fired generation fleet is becoming less competitive relative to the market.
  • The City's Greenhouse Gases compliance costs are increasing significantly.

Achieving a fair and appropriate return on rate base will likely be a priority for the distribution businesses as they need to invest significantly in growth and sustaining capital over the next 10 years.


Evolving Regulations

Market design changes and evolving regulations create a level of uncertainty in the power market. With broad efforts to reduce emissions, greenhouse gas compliance costs are increasing, exerting a significant financial impact on operations over time.

The provincial Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) Regulation imposes greenhouse gas penalties that can be offset by investing in emission reduction projects, but even those offsets become increasingly expensive as time progresses. The federal Clean Electricity Regulation (CER), as it currently stands, sets emission limits that must be achieved by 2035, and even further by 2050. City-owned natural gas-fired power generation assets are at risk of forced or uneconomic shutdown unless viable mitigation solutions are found.

The required capital identified by the energy business is approximately $490 million over the next years to sustain and grow the business (value reflects 2024 budget forecasts for 2025-2032). This amount does not include investment that could be required for energy transition, which could be substantial.


Optimizing governance model to drive business value

The City's current governance model may be sub-optimizing business value. Medicine Hat's City Council is unique in that it must balance the interests of taxpayers, ratepayers, and the long-term sustainability of the energy business. Due to the reality of elections, City Councils do not naturally have energy and utility-focused technical expertise and lack the independence to perform their functions as rate regulator and board of directors.

The energy market is highly volatile, and this risk profile is not typical of a municipality. Importantly, the energy business is subject to the City's policies and processes. Municipal financial processes do not support decision-making required for managing the energy business, such as:

  • Capital projects are approved as part of the City's overall capital budgeting process, not on their merits to the energy business or their potential impacts to rates.
  • Financial statements are based on municipal accounting practices. For example, expense items include transfers to capital, and commodity revenue is not reflected in the distribution businesses, dividends are accounted for as a series of transfers.

Complexity is expected to grow in the industry due to changes in the Alberta power market and energy transition regulatory changes requiring a high-level of expertise in the energy sector.


What's the City's overall energy strategy?

The Energy Business Review, MCC model recommendation, and associated exploration is a process that will help City Council decide on a business model that is intended to deliver optimal value for the community in light of changing community and external circumstances.

This process fits into a broader strategy—a need to adapt the City's energy strategy—to maintain its competitiveness for ratepayers, shelter the taxpayer from potential financial losses, and meet the changing demands of the 21st century.

  • Sustaining investments, so long as economically viable and compliant; use credits and explore emissions abatement solutions
  • Diversify if/when economically favourable, in scaled and affordable phases
  • (Slowly) prepare for longer term electrification and heating alternatives/fuel blending
  • Optimize existing production through wind down; assess upside options
  • Monitor advancements and pursue studies and pilots to learn more
  • Energy Business Review and financial planning to ensure tools are available and best value for community
  • Monitor and influence policy and regulatory changes; seek grants to assist with any early steps
  • Regional Carbon Capture, Usage, and Storage Hub; education and engagement prioritizing large customers who may face greatest impact of change; allocation of firm supply, and/or system investment

The City's energy strategy is complex and is informed by many factors. Read more about City's Energy Strategy.


How can you influence this project?

Council has approved the development of an implementation plan for the establishment of a MCC for its energy business. The resulting plan will be used to inform future Council decisions on establishing an MCC.

Before City Council can trigger implement of an MCC, the municipality must disclose the following 30 days prior to a public hearing (scheduled for June 24):

  • The services the corporation intends to provide
  • The names of the shareholders of the corporation
  • The geographic locations in and outside Alberta in which the corporation intends to provide services
  • A projected utility rate structure
  • A market impact analysis

Before City Council can trigger implement of an MCC, you would then have an opportunity to present to City Council at a public hearing.

The process of establishing an MCC is subject to provincial legislative requirements under the Alberta Municipal Government Act (MGA) and the Municipally Controlled Corporations Regulation (MCCR).

The City is sharing information about this potential governance structure change leading up to a public hearing on Tuesday, June 24 starting at 4 p.m., City Council Chambers, City Hall. Submissions (written or oral) in support or opposition of the MCC model are welcome.

In preparation for the public hearing and information sessions, we recommend watching this one and hour hour long segment from the May 20 City Council meeting where the energy team outlines the Municipally Controlled Corporation business structure, value proposition, Rate Review Committee structure, unanimous shareholder agreement, and the process for this proposal.

That video segment includes all above-mentioned disclosure requirements.

Public goals while exploring whether an MCC model is the right fit for the City's energy business include:

  • Provide balanced accessible information about this project and its potential merits
  • Provide an avenue for public input following legislative requirements
  • Raise awareness of the project and its potential impact
  • Connect with the public and key interest groups

How can you get involved?

Read through the information on this page to fully inform yourself of this project.


Use the Q&A tool below to ask your questions online to the project team.


Attend an information session

1. In-person Q&A, Friday, June 6 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Helen Beny Lounge, City Hall

2. Online Q&A, Wednesday, June 11 from 5 to 6 p.m., virtual Teams presentation


Participate in the public hearing

Tuesday, June 24 starting at 4 p.m., City Council Chambers, City Hall. Submissions (written or oral) in support or opposition of the MCC model are welcome.

The information and tools available on this project page, as well as forthcoming information and events, are intended to support learning and understanding around this important strategic decision for the City's energy business.

Q&A

Ask your questions about the energy business review here. Response times may vary, but we will do our best to reply to your questions. Please take a moment to review any previous questions, or the FAQ, before posting. 

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Page last updated: 11 Jun 2025, 06:27 PM