EPCOR electricity franchise fee (Local Access Fee) — City of Edmonton revenue

EPCOR pays the City of Edmonton an electricity distribution franchise fee in exchange for the right to distribute power in the city. EPCOR collects this from customers and passes it to the City; it appears on the utility bill as the "Local Access Fee."

Key passages: - "These fees, flowed through by EPCOR to the City of Edmonton, are indicated on your utility bill as Local Access Fee." - 2026 Franchise Fee Rate Application: the average monthly franchise fee for an average residential customer is forecast to increase by ~$0.39/month to ~$8.33/month in 2026, from $7.94/month in 2025. - A March 17, 2025 change aimed to "make fees more stable and transparent" (moving off a variable rate to comply with provincial Bill 19). - Electric power distribution franchise fees "are not considered to be in lieu of property taxes, which are levied separately" — i.e. this is an additional charge on top of property tax.

The franchise fee is a direct municipal levy embedded in every resident's power bill: a tax-by-another-name collected through the city-owned utility.

Original source: https://www.epcor.com/ca/en/news/notices/2025-11-15-franchise-fee-rate-application.html Original source: https://x.com/EPCOR/status/1857060925905260951 Retrieved: 2026-07-04