Alberta oil thirst leading to disaster ?

[Hydraboss]

Well August, how exactly do we set a "valued" price on non-renewables? Who sets the number? You? The provinces (they already do)? Some idiots in Ottawa that are overstepping their bounds?

What's fair? What's right? And how can you choose one unrelated statement over another unrelated statement?

Is this Alberta royalty rate thing really bothering you that much? Forget about it. It's only the business of Albertans anyway. Consider the money that gets sent to the ROC because of it a gift.

Edited October 26, 2007 by Hydraboss

[geoffrey]

Actually Geoff, I pay the deregulated rate as set by the AEUB. Keep in mind that the "approved profit margin" the power companies get to collect is after all expenses, including wages, marketing costs, bonuses, and donuts in the coffee room. So, no, it wasn't subsidy. It was power companies having to survive like every other company in the world. If they hedged their bets and were wrong, they simply apply for an increase in charge. It is the only operation I am aware of that is legislated not to lose money. It's physically impossible.

Of course, if I had a few billion dollars I would probably do the same thing. Fair's fair.

Hydra, you have a bit of a misunderstanding about how dereg works. I don't want to give away too much about where I possibly work, so I can't give you specific examples. That said, your right on cost of operation recovery (the margins are quite reasonable, around 8.5%).

That, however, is only Transmission Facility Owners and some areas of distribution. You've got some TransAlta, essientially all Altalink, nearly all Fortis and some ATCO power on a tariff basis.

TransAlta Generation for example, can lose money. Same with VisionQuest Wind (now owned by TA). There is no guarnteed earnings in generation. Nor is there in retail power sales. The only people with guarnteed returns are those in uncompetitive areas like transmission... it's simply not possible to allow those companies to charge what they wish so cost of service is the only way.

Do Albertans pay the "real" cost of electricity?

More so than any other province. If Albertans pay competitive rates, then yes, we pay the real cost. If you want a carbon tax, so be it, but I don't think Quebec, with a CO2 tax, would even come close to Alberta in fair rates.

Incidentally, Quebec truly underprices its electricity and in effect subsidizes its use. This is tragedy on a grand scale and belies any claim of Quebec to Kyoto political correctness.

Mmmhmmm, your right.

Well August, how exactly do we set a "valued" price on non-renewables?

If it were possible, it would already be done.

[kengs333]

Well August, how exactly do we set a "valued" price on non-renewables? Who sets the number? You? The provinces (they already do)? Some idiots in Ottawa that are overstepping their bounds?

Keep it the way it is now; the faster it get's depleted the better, then we can go back to riding around on horses and fueling our homes with cow chips like they did in the good old days.

[Hydraboss]

Keep it the way it is now; the faster it get's depleted the better, then we can go back to riding around on horses and fueling our homes with cow chips like they did in the good old days.

So really, federal politicians will be helping to heat our homes? Excellent.

[OhCanadienne]

So really, federal politicians will be helping to heat our homes? Excellent.

Only if we switch to hot-air heat system.

[Black Dog]

Geoffery

Why would we care if no one is affected? Rationality over emotion there BD.

I'm simply not of the mindset that we need to exploit every last square inch of the earth to feed our excessive appetites. If that's overly emotional to you, so be it. But I think it's perfectly valid.

That said, I see no evidence that reclaimation isn't a priority of oil and gas exploration.

Reclamation is all well and good, but what's wrong with just leaving nature natural and scaling back the pace of development and consumption to live within our means?

[Leafless]

Reclamation is all well and good, but what's wrong with just leaving nature natural and scaling back the pace of development and consumption to live within our means?

How can reclamation be well and good relating to tar sands and the tremendous WASTE of energy to achieve this reclamation?

Edited October 27, 2007 by Leafless