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By rdnewsNOW staff

Petition/Letter Writing Campaign

Condo owners meet with Minister on Energy Rebates

Feb 25, 2023 | 2:08 PM

The Condo Owners Forum Society of Alberta (COF) says it has initiated a petition and letter-writing campaign to get the attention of the Government of Alberta to address what they say is a flawed electricity energy rebate program first announced in March 2022.

The organization says Alberta condo owners applaud the government for initiating an energy rebate program.

However, despite comments in the press to the contrary by Matt Jones, Minister of Affordability and Utilities, COF says the program is only available to some Alberta condominium owners and tenants who currently pay their own utility bills directly to the utility companies.

The inability of many condo owners to qualify is upsetting, say COF officials. The organization says many Alberta condos have one electric meter for the complex, primarily older apartment-style buildings. In fact, says COF, many Alberta condo owners not paying their own utility bills may not know they’ve never received the electricity rebate. As the Energy Rebates Regulation is currently designed, COF says many condo owners will not benefit from the rebate. COF says it has been asking the government to include condo owners since July 2022.

“COF has finally, through the success of the petition launched on Feb 3, 2023, been able to chat with Minister Jones and his team on February 14th,” said Condo Owners Forum Society of Alberta (COF) Director Phil Rosenzweig.

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COF says the ministry is studying alternatives to deliver the energy rebate(s) more effectively and be more inclusive of people in multi-family buildings. Officials with the organization say they were assured it was a high priority to address the inequities of the current programs.

Unfortunately, says COF, Minister Jones could only provide timelines of one to two months before an announcement could be made. In the interim, COF says it has chosen to continue with the petition and letter-writing campaigns. Officials say it is too important of an issue for them not to, as they represent tens of thousands of dollars to many Alberta condos and multi-family building residents.

COF says it has offered again to act as a sounding-board for the changes Minister Jones’ department is considering and looks forward to an announcement.

“Unfortunately, this program will take another one to two months and become an election promise when people require assistance now”, said Rosenzweig.

The petition and letter-writing campaign can be found here. https://cofsab.ca/whereismyenergyrebate/