Secret, backroom deal robs Edmontonians of a critical asset
EDMONTON – The sale of assets related to the production side of EPCOR’s assets should not have been done without consulting the public, CUPE Alberta President Dennis Mol said today.
“You know a deal is bad for the public when it is hatched behind closed doors and citizen input isn’t even an afterthought,” said Mol. “City council knows from past privatization fights that voters don’t like selling off assets, so they conducted themselves in secret.”
Mol said CUPE has warned for years that EPCOR assets might be privatized, ever since the electric and water utilities were corporatized.
“With every step the City and EPCOR take, citizens lose more control over our energy and water resources at a time they are becoming more valuable and necessary,” said Mol. “Deregulation makes it more necessary to produce our own power, not less.”
Mol said EPCOR’s approach of seeking large profits from sales of power was wrong from the start. Instead, the union leader wants to see assets managed in the interests on Edmonton power consumers, to bring rates down.
“Corporatizing our utilities was the Trojan horse,” said Mol. “Now we are losing assets and losing the ability to control a key lever of our economy.”
Contact: Lou Arab
Communications Representative
780.271.2722
LA/lmac
cope #491