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The question for consumers is whether this system would increase their monthly power bills.

Gary Reynolds, an energy consultant who used to lead a government agency that markets electricity, said it would either have no effect or it would increase rates.

“You’re introducing a new cost that has to be borne by consumers to pay for the capacity,” he said.

Energy economist Dave Gray said Alberta’s current electricity system is volatile and can lead to price hikes when there is a scarcity of supply. The capacity model, he said, “would lead to far more stable electricity pricing in the province.”

Whether prices will escalate under that model will depend on how it’s structured, said Gray, the former head of Alberta’s Utilities Consumer Advocate.

Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd said it was too early to comment on the potential impact for consumers.

She said low power prices are the biggest problem as the government eyes changes to the electricity market.

“Nobody is making money in energy-only right now. It’s just a market that’s not working,” McCuaig-Boyd said in an interview. “The energy-only market industry has told us that’s not working, so we are talking to industry about a number of things.”

The minister said the government will reveal its plans before Christmas.

Wildrose MLA Don MacIntyre said he worries the move to a capacity market would leave taxpayers having to shoulder power utility debt, which Albertans haven’t had to do since deregulation in the 1990s.

The province has announced a phase-out of coal-fired power plants and increases to the carbon levy on large emitters as part of its climate change strategy. The moves have served to upend the electricity system, though the province defends its decisions.

Reynolds said the power system was working fine before the province began meddling with it.

“It’s only broken because of the programs that they (the Notley government) have introduced,” he said.

With files from James Wood, Postmedia

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