A Power Transfer In Vermilion

Early in the history of most communities, electricity did not come from the government but by the residents and the community itself.

This usually meant installing a generator that provided power to a small amount of homes and businesses. From there, the electric service began to expand through the community and ratepayer organizations were created to manage the electricity.

But by the mid-20th century, there was a shift away from those smaller electrical companies owned by communities to provincial companies that could manage the growing service better. Sometimes, they sold their service to larger companies.

That was the case on July 29, 1947 when Vermilion ratepayers made the decision to sell their town-owned power plant. Ratepayers voted in favour of selling to the Canadian Utilities Limited of Calgary.

Canadian Utilities paid $120,000 for the existing power plant with an obligation for new equipment at a cost of $40,000.

The agreement also calls for the lowering of light and power rates by 30 per cent, and the construction of a steam power plant that would cost $250,000 in the communities. That plant would serve communities from Lloydminster to Smoky Lake and from Saint Paul to Vegreville.

In order to get the sale approved, ratepayers had to vote in a two-third majority to pass it. That ended up being the case when the ratepayers voted with 327 in favour of the sale and only 66 opposed to it.

From that moment, the era of community owned power in Vermilion came to an end after about four decades. Before long, the companies would be taken over by the provincial government, who would provide the electrical service to Vermilion and other communities until privatization came along in the 1990s.

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