Today, City Council established the date for a mandatory public hearing that must occur before Council decides whether to establish a municipally controlled corporation (MCC) for The City’s electric utility.
The public hearing will provide an opportunity for citizens and other interested parties to share their feedback with Council on the future of The City’s electric operations. Over the last several years, The City has been reviewing and considering options for modernizing the electric utility, with the goal of enhancing capacity, ensuring future economic sustainability and adapting to evolving industry needs.
In July 2024, Council provided direction to administration to investigate the possibility of transitioning the electric utility, which includes the distribution of electricity in Red Deer, to a City-owned Municipally Controlled Corporation. An MCC is a corporation that is owned by a municipality to provide specific services or functions that benefit the municipality and its residents, while operating at arm’s length from municipal administration.
“For over a century, Red Deer has been in the business of providing essential utility services, like electricity, but as these industries continued to evolve, our governance and business models have remained largely unchanged,” said Tricia Hercina, Business Excellence Manager. “This Public Hearing is an opportunity for citizens to share their perspectives as we explore the potential benefits of a municipally controlled corporation and ensure a sustainable, modernized utility for the future.”
Currently, The City is working with a consultant, EY, to develop a business plan, financial analysis and regulatory review to present a full picture of what it could mean for The City to transition to an MCC. As part of this process, the business plan will be made publicly available at least one month prior to the public hearing to give the public a chance to understand what is being proposed. Along with this, education materials will be shared leading up to the public hearing to enhance understanding.
"Red Deer is just one of five municipalities in Alberta that operates their electric utility through a department model, and we’ve being doing so for over 100 years with little change in our business approach” said Tara Lodewyk, City Manager. “It’s critical that we keep pace with industry changes and remain flexible and nimble to the ever-changing market. Exploring a Municipally Controlled Corporation allows us to keep our electric utility publicly owned while positioning it for long-term sustainability. We look forward to engaging the community in this important conversation and encourage everyone to take part in the public hearing process.”
The public hearing is set for Monday, June 23, 2025, in Council Chambers at City Hall. Written submission will be accepted from now until June 13, 2025. Full details on how to participate, in person or in writing, will be made available at reddeer.ca/public hearing. Note, if submitting written comments, participants may want to wait until the business plan is made available to ensure you have full and complete information about what is being proposed for the MCC.
As required by the Municipally Controlled Corporations Regulation, the following information will be provided at the public hearing:
- The services the corporation intends to provide,
- The names of the shareholders of the corporation
- The geographic locations in and outside Alberta in which the corporation intends to provide services
- In the case of a corporation that intends to provide utility services, a projected rate structure, and
- The market impact analysis contained in the business plan, if any.
For more information, see our Electric Utility FAQ (pdf)
Further project details and updates can be found at reddeer.ca/UtilitiesModel