RE:RE:Reducing Operating CostsMalx1, thanks for taking the time to respond with your assessment of the the complexities of the power market. Read it Saturday morning but we were too busy with family activities during the weekend to respond.
There are an obvious number of differences with the power markets of the various provinces, but Alberta has more of them and some substantially adding more to the costs. BC and Quebec have hydro power to offset the costs of power to commericial, industrial, agricultural and the general population. Ontario also has some nuclear electrical production to possibily lower costs of production. But Alberta has natural gas in enormous quantities that could actually be used in a manner that could reduce costs and be an Alberta Advantage. Deregulation has turned out to be a huge mistake and difficult to change or dump..........but not impossible. The City of Medicine Hat (The Gas City) likely has the lowest electrical rates in Alberta, they have their own sources of natural gas that supplies their generation of electrical power. The Copper Coulee Casino's electrical operating costs have the City of Medicine Hat Advantage.
My disappointment with the deregulated power structure is that it is not being used as an advantage that it could provide all the users and it would be especially be helpful to businesses that consume large quantities of electricity. The sage of Omaha, Warren Buffet owns more than half of the power transmission lines in Alberta and that one single factor has added a huge cost to electrical rates. We're stuck in a huge quagmire here and need to move on out.
Nevertheless, our management team will continue to operate our Casinos as best they can.