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By Ian Gustafson

Move to second phase

Red Deer council continues to move forward with electric utility transition to MCC

Mar 11, 2026 | 11:45 AM

Red Deer city council has backed the previous council’s decision to transition the city’s electric utility to a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC).

Council received a report from city administration on Tuesday with further information about divestment and a side-by-side comparison of governance model options.

No resolution was brought forward, but council’s support of the decision now prompts the second phase of the process to transition to an MCC.

Administration was directed by council during their Feb. 24 regular meeting to come back with more information after some councillors were unsure whether moving forward with an MCC was the right decision.

The information presented included valuation methods, one-time and ongoing costs, impacts to people and bills, timing and feasibility, and risks.

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The former city council approved a resolution to transition the city’s electric utility to an MCC back on June 24, 2025.

Read more: Red Deer city council approves electric utility transition to an MCC

The phrase “generational decision” was used by council and administration throughout discussions at the public hearing at the time. Ultimately, the vote was passed with a 6-3 vote, with councillors Kraymer Barnstable, Chad Krahn, and former councillor Victor Doerksen opposed.

Fast forward to Tuesday’s council meeting, councillor Kraymer Barnstable said he’s looking forward to the work coming in Phase 2, but is still struggling.

“I’m still struggling with the idea of where the direction this is going, but I want to continue down the process,” he said.

“I’m hoping that as we start diving into the work in Phase 2, maybe I will become more resolved and understanding that there’s always the off-ramp of going down a divestiture route. To do that, someone on council is going to have to pose the question, and we’re going to have to have a vote and likely a public hearing if that does go forward.”

Councillor Dianne Wyntjes said she looks forward to the conversations ahead, adding that lessons learned from other municipalities are important to keep in mind. She said it’s also important that the community has confidence in the decision.

“This is about protecting our city’s interest, this is about protecting our utility rates, the cost that we pay, recognizing that this is about looking to the growth of our city,” Wyntjes said. “This is about the changing regulations… It is our governance model which is very significant for the future. I look forward to the next steps and the important conversations that we have as council as we make decisions along with bringing the community with us in terms of the utility that we own.”

In the meantime, councillor Adam Goodwin said he’s ready to go down the path of an MCC, but is “still not super confident.”

“I will now point all my efforts to making this as successful as possible, and in doing so, be really interested in that unanimous shareholder agreement. I’m very looking forward to that,” he said.

Councillor Cassandra Curtis said receiving the report helped to affirm the direction council is headed.

“It has also been confirmed that there are off-ramps, and I really appreciated the information and discussion during closed. I will support where we’re at and going forward,” she said.

Mayor Cindy Jefferies said council and staff are stronger for having slowed down, asked questions, and gathered more information before moving forward.

“A former member of council used to say sometimes the fastest way to go is to go slow. When we hit that little speed bump a few weeks ago, it was probably a good pause for reflection, and staff did an amazing job of pulling together a very well curated report.”