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A company that sells power to Albertans warns that major changes coming to the electricity market will hike costs for consumers while squeezing retailers.

The NDP government said Wednesday it will implement a widely anticipated overhaul of Alberta’s power market that moves away from the deregulated system designed under the Klein government.

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“The premier is playing with numbers that are confusing to consumers, and consumers are going to pay more,” said Nick Clark, managing partner of the Calgary-based power retailer UTILITYnet.

“This is the absolute worst government policy that we’ve seen in 40 years.”

Officials with the government and the independent agency that oversees Alberta’s grid say prices will not increase, and may actually be lower under the new system expected to be in place by 2021.

Yet, there is concern the government has created more uncertainty about the future of Alberta’s power system with a series of sweeping changes, including new renewable power, coal plant shutdowns, a carbon tax and now an overhaul of the entire system.