Wondering where your rebates went?

They're only just starting to show up on utility bills, say officials of Epcor and Atco Gas.

In the case of Epcor, most bills received by customers in January included power use for part of December, company spokesperson Lynn Hutchings-Mah said Thursday.

That means customers will only get part of a $40 monthly rebate on those January bills, she explained. From February onwards, however, customers should see a full $40 deduction.

The Alberta government announced the rebate in late December, which will be deducted from bills this year to offset rising electricity costs.

The province also announced that $150 monthly rebates will be deducted from residential natural gas bills for the first four months of 2001. But those rebates will actually start showing up on February heating bills as a $184 deduction, Atco Gas spokesperson Carol Benoit said.

That's because the initial January bills only contained a $50 rebate as first announced by the government in early December. That was later raised to $150 but too late to be included in the January bills. To catch up, Atco will deduct $184 a month in February, March and April.

As for those particularly high January gas bills, customers should remember that they cover the cold snap that dominated much of December, Benoit said.

Both utilities are getting lots of calls, including some from 5,000 Epcor customers who received bills with incorrect amounts. The errors include doubled amounts caused by a computer glitch.

Consumers and business owners can also find out about rebates and energy conservation at a new Internet site set up by the provincial government at AlbertaEnergyFacts.com.

Those without Internet access can call 310-4455.

Edmonton Journal

-- Anonymous, February 09, 2001