Calgary’s mayor, councillors defend Enmax election spending in Maine – Calgary | 24CA News
Calgary’s mayor and metropolis councillors say city-owned Enmax is defending its funding in a Maine energy utility, because it spends thousands and thousands on advocacy in an upcoming referendum within the state.
Voters in Maine will resolve in a referendum later this 12 months whether or not to exchange the state’s two largest privately-owned energy firms, together with Enmax-owned Versant Power, with a public utility.
In an effort to foyer towards the transfer to public utility possession, Enmax has contributed $7.5 million to date this 12 months to a U.S. primarily based non-profit referred to as Maine Energy Progress to sway voters to maintain the privately-owned electrical energy firms.
The founding organizations of Maine Energy Progress are Enmax and Versant Power, in line with the Maine Ethics Commissioner.
Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek advised reporters that Enmax bought Versant Power in 2020 to assist enhance profitability, and the spending is to guard their $1.8 billion funding.
“(Enmax) made that investment in the interest of growing the company and providing a better return to its shareholder, which is (the City of Calgary),” Gondek mentioned. “Trying to protect that investment is what they’re pursuing right now.”
If Maine residents vote in favour of making a consumer-based electrical energy utility, it will set off a course of to exchange the 2 privately-owned energy firms in Maine, in addition to a negotiation to amass the electrical energy suppliers and their property from their mother or father firms.
“Therefore it would be a loss of investment for Calgarians and the loss of investment potential,” Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner mentioned. “That is essentially what they are trying to protect.”
Although Enmax is owned by the City of Calgary, and the town is its sole shareholder, no one from the town or council makes any administration choices in regard to the facility utility’s operations.
However, metropolis councillors advised reporters they’re largely supportive of Enmax’s opposition efforts within the Maine referendum.
“We govern, we don’t manage,” Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot mentioned. “So what they do to ensure the profitability of the organization, I’m completely confident that what they’re doing is in the best interest of the corporation.”
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Enmax has mentioned its electrical energy charges weren’t affected by the acquisition of Versant Power or the paying down of the debt to amass the corporate, and clients received’t be charged further charges or charge will increase to offset the price of buying Versant Power, its operations or the referendum course of.
“A decision will be made in Maine by Mainers and Enmax respects the process of the referendum,” the utility mentioned in an announcement Tuesday.
Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra mentioned it will be “horrible” if Enmax didn’t advocate in Maine and misplaced cash on its possession of Versant Power, and added the transfer is “not outrageous,” however somewhat the “cost of doing business.”
Enmax advised Global News that it will be paid market worth if the referendum had been to go.
“They’re going to spend money to protect the investment that they’ve made, and if they’re successful then it’s all good,” Carra mentioned. “If they’re not successful, then we’re going to have to pivot to trying to make sure that the resolution of how that shakes out doesn’t cost us a lot of money.”
There is an Enmax shareholder assembly on Wednesday, and Gondek mentioned she’s anticipating some dialogue and questions on the election spending, together with how far more Enmax plans to spend on the marketing campaign.
“This is not the standard election process, this is something that’s coming forward through an election process and it has an impact to an organization that owns that entity,” Gondek mentioned. “I think that’s something that we absolutely need to clarify, perhaps the communication needs to be better on this. We will have a conversation about that (on Wednesday).”
Mainers go to the polls within the referendum on November 7.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
