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City-owned Enmax has terminated its contract to buy electricity from the coal-fired Battle River power plant, saying historically low power prices and the NDP hike in the carbon tax for heavy carbon emitters has made the deal unprofitable.

“With low power prices in the wholesale market and changes to the Specified Gas Emitters Regulation announced in June 2015, the Battle River PPA (Power Purchase Arrangement) became unprofitable for Enmax,” the utility said in a statement Monday.

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“Based on these market conditions, Enmax made the business decision to exercise its right under the PPA to terminate the agreement, effective Jan. 1.”

The contract will be returned to Alberta’s Balancing Pool — a government-created agency which sells power from electrical generation contracts that were not sold at auctions when the province deregulated the electricity market 15 years ago.

Profits and losses in the Balancing Pool are allocated to power consumers on their monthly power bills. Since 2006, it has refunded consumers more than $2 billion.