Court of Appeal of Alberta

FortisAlberta v AUC Court of Appeal Ruling Concerning PBR

On July 30, 2026, the Alberta Court of Appeal released its FortisAlberta Inc v Alberta Utilities Commission, 2026 ABCA 258 ruling concerning the third term of the performance-based regulation (PBR) framework for Alberta distribution utilities. This decision (Docket 2301-0264AC) was heard alongside two other related appeals (0265AC and 0268AC) involving FortisAlberta, ENMAX Power, and ATCO Electric in relation to the October 2023 Decision 27388 which established the third term of PBR.1

While the Court largely upheld the AUC’s decision, it found the Commission made an error in dismissing Fortis’ complaint involving the stretch factor adjustment present within PBR without sufficient explanation. Additionally, the Court made a number of recommendations to the Commission in regards to improving regulatory efficiency, including making Decisions more legible to lay persons, specifically by reducing the use of acronyms.



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Contributions in Aid of Construction Appeal

The Court of Appeal of Alberta (the Court) has issued its decision regarding the appeal of Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) Decision 26061-D01-2021. The appeal was filed by AltaLink Management Ltd. (AltaLink), ATCO Electric Ltd., ENMAX Power Corporation, and EPCOR Distribution & Transmission Inc.  The crux of this appeal is the Commission’s treatment of contributions in aid of construction. In Decision 26061-D01-2021, the Commission disallowed transmission and distribution facility owners (TFOs and DFOs) from earning a return on contributions in aid of construction, despite affirming that the current practice was in line with the legislative framework. The utilities could then only treat the contributions as expenses in the year of disbursement because of the decision. The four DFOs filed an appeal with the Alberta court.[1]



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ATCO v Commission Court of Appeal Decision

In the Court of Appeal of Alberta, ATCO Electric Ltd. (ATCO) v Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission), 2023 ABCA 129 Memorandum of Judgment, ATCO sought the appeal of a Commission decision that denied ATCO the recovery of losses associated with the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. The Commission’s initial decision relied on ATCO Gas & Pipelines Ltd v Alberta (Energy & Utilities Board), 2006 SCC 4 (the Stores Block decision), from which the Commission understood that ‘extraordinary retirements’ of assets are attributable to shareholders rather than customer accounts. After considering the circumstances, the Court of Appeal issued a decision allowing ATCO’s appeal to stand.



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