Direct Energy closer to Alberta operations

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Direct Energy Marketing has cleared the first hurdle on its way to acquiring the retail marketing and natural gas businesses of Calgary-based utility ATCO, but the finish line is still some distance away.

Alberta’s Energy and Utilities Board approved the C$129 million deal, which involves 975,000 gas and electricity customers in the province.

Now Toronto-based Direct Energy must await Energy and Utilities Board approval of conditions that would add more than C$70 a year to the average consumer’s gas bill. Direct Energy has insisted that it must have the right to charge sufficient fees to cover the new costs of buying and storing gas as well as billing customers.

The Consumers’ Coalition of Alberta regards the proposed fees as excessive.