City taking power plant questions from public on website

The city communications office has opened up a porthole to submit questions about the city’s power plant.

The page, on the City of Medicine Hat’s “Shape Your City” webpage, provides information to “frequently asked questions,” and allows residents to submit questions that will be answered by city staff.

The page can be found at shapeyourcity.medicinehat.ca.

In mid-January the utility and energy division announced it was seeking “strategic alternatives” for the city’s generating company. That exists as a grandfathered regulated municipal market in Alberta’s otherwise wholly deregulated electricity market.

Senior staff and elected representatives could result in the sale of the city’s power plant. No timeline on the review has been stated, though officials say the otherwise unusual step of announcing they may be soliciting offers from private industry signals the city is being transparent in the process.

Glauc C buyer named

A private company comprising former top officials at Crescent Point Energy is the new owner of the city’s share in the Glauc C oilfield northeast of Medicine Hat.

The city announced this week that Cache Island Corp., a traditional and renewable energy company, had finalized the sale that was announced in late December.

Its CEO is Scott Saxberg, who helped co-founder Crescent Point in 2003 but left the company in 2018.

The field remains 73 per cent owned by Enerplus, which operates the field as one of few remaining Canadian assets.

The city’s energy exploration company listed its one-quarter ownership in the heavy oil field for sale in the early fall.

In late 2020, council approved an offer from an unnamed buyer to assume control on the non-working interest that contributed 900 barrels per day to the city’s production.

The value of the deal was cited at $20 million favourable to the city’s books, though no breakdown of cash and assumed liabilities was made public.

Contracts awarded

Two contracts totalling $4.8 million have been awarded to further construction of the City of Medicine Hat’s power plant expansion.

This week council received the results of bidding for some equipment on the $66-million project to add another turbine to the city’s north-end power facility by the spring of 2022.

Foundation work was also awarded for this summer ahead of the March 2022 completion.

“We’re moving quickly on this build,” said utility director Brad Maynes, who described the bidding environment as very competitive.

GVN Structures, of Redcliff, will provide subsurface work and grading at the site, located off Box Springs Road. Its bid of $1.2 million was accepted among four submitted.

Peerless Manufacturing, a North American supplier, will provide a catalytic unit to reduce the amount of nitrous oxide released in emission and well as a heat-recovery unit that links the new turbine, known as Unit 17, to the existing turbine, Unit 16.

The total cost of that supply contract is $3.63 million. Three companies provided quotes.