FortisAlberta denies treading on the toes of a rural electrification association that claims that the power provider is taking their customers.
The Central Alberta Rural Electrification Association has asked the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) to formally confirm who has the right to serve new electricity consumers in rural areas.
The organization claims that FortisAlberta is serving customers that should be receiving their electricity through the association based on an existing agreement between the two power providers.
FortisAlberta spokeswoman Jennifer MacGowan was reluctant to go into much detail on the dispute while it is before the commission.
“The way we would be responding is through the AUC process,” said MacGowan on Monday.
FortisAlberta contends it is following the agreement it has with the association.
“We are operating within the rights that we have from that agreement as well as existing legislation,” MacGowan said.
The electrification association has been serving mostly farm customers until now.
However, the association intends to ask the commission to confirm them as the primary provider for the area and to allow it to serve all customers, including residential, industrial and commercial power users.
The association is the largest in Alberta and serves 8,300 customers from Irricana, northeast of Calgary, through Central Alberta to Onoway, northwest of Edmonton.