08:15 AM EDT, 05/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- ATCO (ACO.X.TO, ACO-Y.TO) said Thursday it is "extremely disappointed" with yesterday's Alberta Utilities Commission decision regarding regulatory rules, adding it believes the AUC is "now interpreting the rules differently than previously outlined".

According to ATCO, it is the only utility in Alberta to reduce distribution costs by 8% and "continues to drive affordability for Albertans along with regulatory fairness".

As background, ATCO noted rates for electric and gas distribution utilities in Alberta are set under a form of Performance Based Regulation (PBR) "designed to mimic competition and encourage efficiency" by providing incentives for the utility to reduce costs, while safeguarding reliability, and minimizing rate increases.

ATCO said the issue concerns the AUC's position that ATCO was not detailed enough in documenting the specific sources of all the cost savings achieved by its Alberta natural gas and electricity distribution utilities during the previous PBR period of 2018-2022.

The AUC, ATCO said, has previously acknowledged that "it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify and separate cost reductions that the ATCO Utilities would have undertaken" in response to the PBR framework from other factors. Yet, ATCO added, in the May 2024 PBR2 reopener decision, the AUC claimed that the ATCO Utilities failed to fully quantify or attribute all efficiency gains under PBR to specific programs or initiatives, leading to today's remedy decision. "This contradiction underscores the pressing need for regulatory certainty. While the May 2024 PBR2 reopener decision is currently under appeal, ATCO requested that the AUC delay determining any remedy until the appeal is resolved. That request was denied."

ATCO said from 2023 to 2028 ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric businesses will deliver over $500 million in distribution savings to its Alberta customers, already reducing distribution costs charged to customers by 8%. ATCO added it is the only Alberta utility that delivered natural gas and electricity rate reductions to customers at the end of the PBR2 period.

It noted distribution rates are the costs of operating the pipes and wires that provide natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses and represent the portion of the utility bill for which ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric are responsible.