Energy Regulator serves itself, not us
By Lethbridge Herald on May 23, 2025.
Editor,
Further to the May 2) Lethbridge Herald Guest column by Lorne Fitch titled “Energy Regulator has done the bare minimum”, I respectfully submit the following.
As an industry-funded, self-regulatory body, I find the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), does very little for the public, while doing the maximum to serve the industry who pays their salaries and board-member benefits of $155 million.
When an industry pays their own “regulators”, they usually get to select those “regulators”. The public gets no input on who, if any, will be protecting the public’s interest.
Because the Alberta Energy Regulator is paid by the industry that they claim to “regulate”, one questions how they can be unbiased because of the funding model, and the industry privilege of hand-picking, and handsomely paying their chosen self-regulators.
The industry-selected regulators are well incentivized, with seven board members collecting a half-million-dollar base salary each. Salaries and financials can be found online found at https://static.aer.ca/prd/documents/reports/AER_Financial_Statements_2023-24.pdf
Corruption is defined as “the use of public entrusted power, for private gain. Self regulatory bodies often seem to meet that definition, and they put at risk the health of millions of people, in exchange for salaries in the millions of dollars, and industry revenues in the billions, or more.
“The AER has a mandate to protect public safety and the environment.” found in Note 14 of the AER annual report.
I believe the public is not being served so much as being served-up….there’s a big difference.
Larry Elford
Lethbridge
12-11
This biased and potentially corrupt body called the AER is the main reason we have so many orphan wells and municipalities with unpaid taxes by the oil industry. Failure to act promptly on the industries failures to correct deficiencies has allowed them escape penalties.
It’s important to recognize who the legislators and captured regulators in this province work for (i.e., not Albertans, present or future).
thank you for a smart writing. it strikes a chord, and the chord is hardly harmonious.
govts have set up sundry deflection systems, that are truly there to serve the oligopoly, not the masses. i suppose if we just keep voting rather than cross out our ballots – and legitimising the same old corrupted, undemocratic system and institutions – it will all eventually change…heck, so many of us play lotto max and all.
With all due respect Mr. Elford, if, as you suggest, the AER Board is not “serving the public” then whom, pray tell, would you suggest might be the alternative?
Someone who understands the issues and not beholden to a one-a-be Demigod. Sad that you don’t understand that. But then again…
might i suggest a board entirely, and actually, independent of the govt of the day. that would be a start.
Harold, following from biff’s comment, the AER BOD comprises nine members. Seven of the nine have experience in the energy sector and of the other two, one is a geologist, with no links to the energy sector identified (at least that I could discern) and the other person has experience in mining. So every one of the BOD members have links to the resource sector.
It would appear to be a textbook example of Regulatory Capture. I’m wondering if that is a phenomenon with which you are familiar?
How long did it take you to get that information?
It took about five minutes, but I was watching the Jays’ game at the same time. It wasn’t difficult at all – I just wanted to contribute in a substantive way to the conversation. A commitment to good-faith dialogue is all that’s required.
thank you for taking the time to provide substance to the aer issue, and further to the pressing concern that is regulatory capture.