Case considered: ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. v. Alberta (EUB), 2009 ABCA 171
PDF version: A Rock and a Hard Place? A False Dilemma
In response to the hand-wringing of my colleague Prof. Alice Woolley in her post on this case, the recent decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal on the role of surplus lands (referred to as the “Harvest Hills” case) should not present any obstacle for the orderly setting of fair utility rates.
The essential facts alone should alleviate most concerns. The uncontradicted evidence was that in 1993 the utility acquired a single parcel of land for $43,000.00 for the purpose of building a regulating station. The station was then built on part of the parcel. There was no thought given to subdivision and sale of the surplus portion until an unsolicited offer was made in 2006. The potential need for the surplus land was then considered. None was identified. While a new, additional regulating station was expected to be needed within a 5 km radius within 5 years, the surplus portion was not an appropriate site, based on good engineering design considerations.