Article content

Alberta’s electricity regulator has rejected a consumer agency’s bid to have TransAlta pay restitution to consumers for power prices they paid as a result of market manipulation.

The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) has ruled its governing legislation does not give it the jurisdiction or authority to order restitution.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Regulator rejects consumer agency bid for restitution in TransAlta price-fixing case Back to video

“The act does not include express authority to order restitution and the commission finds it cannot infer such authority based upon its broadly-drawn powers because such authority is not a practical necessity to achieve the purposes of the act,” says the 19-page decision.

“In the commission’s view, if the legislation had intended to authorize it to order restitution … it would have done so.”

Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd said Tuesday she will be watching the AUC penalty phase closely.

“We are going to let them carry out their independent work, which includes the ability to levy penalties in defence of the public interest,” she said in a statement.