This letter is in regards to the Red Deer Advocate article Man questions extra charges on his electricity bill published in print on Nov. 10.
I am just throwing this observation out there as I have been interested in all these promises our prime minister is making to reduce global emissions. He wants to move away from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources such as electricity. Then I read the article mentioned above.
Now, I don’t know about you but approximately 75 per cent of my electricity charges now are “fees.” According to the Alberta Utilities Commission’s website these fees pay for the expansion, replacement and upgrading of the distributions system. They tell us it is costly to operate a system to provide electricity to customers.
We all know that our current power grid goes down when too many people are using “air conditioning” for example. I’m guessing our current distribution system won’t support a bunch of electric cars.
So, what will happen as more and more people buy electric cars?
Say we add a few million electric cars on the roads in Alberta. Surprise, surprise, the electric distribution system will have to be massively upgraded. You think our fees are high now? The cost to each household monthly for the upgraded system (whether or not you drive an electric car) will be huge.
So yes, green house gases will be lowered if we all start using electric cars. But we won’t be able to afford food or homes gives the massive electricity distribution fees.
Lori Armstrong, Innisfail