Power and Natural Gas Consumers' Panel

About the Power and Natural Gas Consumers' Panel


Created under s. 7 of the Government Organization Act, the Power and Natural Gas Consumer’s Panel (“the Committee”) is an advisory agency accountable to the Minister of Affordability and Utilities (“Minister”) and responsible for providing advice and guidance regarding current and emerging energy consumer issues.

Please find the Committee's Financial Disclosure information here.

The Committee:

Is responsible for providing advice to the Minister regarding the following:

  • The interests of residential, farm, and small business electricity and natural gas consumer in Alberta with respect to policy and regulatory issues, with emphasis on:
    • Regulated rate structures for electricity and natural gas so they are formulated to best serve Albertans
    • Consistency in billing for utility services, so that consumers more easily understand the components of their bill, even if they change providers
    • Local access and municipal franchise fees impacts on consumer bills
    • The electricity pricing system with the goal of reducing transmission and distribution costs
    • Issues that are of concern to consumers
    • Options for addressing concerns to consumers
    • Opportunities to enhance educational activities and supports for consumers to make informed decisions about electricity and natural gas services
    • Interventions in proceedings of the Alberta Utilities Commission or other regulators
    • The annual budget of the Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA)
    • The priorities and effectiveness of the UCA in meeting its mandate to educate, mediate, and advocate for consumers
  • On the following final or draft documents:
    • Respecting the UCA referred to the Panel by the Minister
    • Any policy papers referred by the Minister, or tabled by Service Alberta or other government departments or agencies for the Panel’s input.
  • Other electricity and natural gas consumer-related matters as may be requested by the Minister, including but not limited to:
    • Support to vulnerable consumers
    • Retailer customer service and billing
    • Distributor consumer service and fees
    • Terms and conditions of consumer contracts
    • Distribution and transmission policy concerns of consumers
    • Energy efficiency and consumption
    • Emerging “prosumer” issues (i.e., someone who is simultaneously a producer and consumer, such as in the case of micro-generation)
  • Will ensure its plan and priorities for the next year, as well as its achievements for the previous year, are reflected in the UCA Strategic Plan and UCA Annual Report respectively.
  • Will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the advice provided to the Minister is evidence-based
  • Will engage stakeholders and the public in order to gather information and become knowledgeable about different perspectives to ensure informed advice is provided.
  • Will discuss with the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Affordability  their resource support needs and adjust its plans in accordance with the resource supports agreed to by the ADM and resource supports available from other sources (e.g. stakeholders represented on the Committee), where applicable.
  • Will hold meetings as required, but generally at least 2-3 times a year. 
  • Is responsible for overseeing compliance with all relevant policies and procedures by which the Committee operates, and ensuring that the Committee operates at all times in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, the Committee’s Code of Conduct and to the highest ethical standards.
  • Through an efficient process led by the Chair, conducts an annual evaluation and review of the performance of the Committee, sub-committees, and the Chair of the Committee. The Committee reviews the results of such evaluation and discusses potential ways to improve Committee effectiveness. The Committee also discusses the results of the evaluation and adopts agreed upon improvements.
  • Is responsible for addressing how it interacts with the public and will consult with the Minister on items of concern.
Annette Clews

Annette Clews

Chair

Annette Clews lives in Sundre, Alberta. She has owned a small business since 2017, transitioning the company to a web-based store in 2019. From 2013 to 2017, she was an adjudicator on the Surface Rights Board and Land Compensation Board for the province of Alberta. Annette was a councillor for the Town of Sundre from 2001 to 2008, then acting Mayor from 2008 to 2010.

In 2010 Annette was elected Mayor and served in this capacity until 2013. During that time, she completed several certifications, including basic economic development, municipal development board, municipal affairs assessment review board, municipal finance courses, incident command system ICS, dispute resolution, and effective leadership skills. During her time as Mayor, she successfully completed many projects for the community that required multiple levels of government involvement.

In 2009, Annette and other council members from local communities were recognized at AUMA, winning the Minister of Municipal Affairs Award of Excellence for inter-municipal cooperation. In 2013, Annette received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee medal for dedication to her community.

Richard Dunn

Richard Dunn

Member-at-Large

Richard Dunn is a Professional Engineer with extensive senior-level experience with major Canadian energy producers who brings a solid understanding of a broad range of government-related matters, including policy and regulatory development as well as complex regulatory applications. 

Collaborating extensively with Indigenous Peoples, stakeholders, governments, regulators and other industry players, Richard’s teams have focused on delivering involved regulatory applications as well as efficient and evidence-based policy and regulatory development, considering factors such as environmental science, health, social, economics, engineering, and safety. Examples of relevant policy and regulatory development include royalty and tax program design as well as greenhouse gas policy and regulation.

Richard holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary. He has served on several boards, including the Executive of the Business Council of British Columbia and the University of Calgary Senate. Richard and his wife Bev are proud to have three adult children and two grandchildren. 
 

Michael Ng

Michael Ng

Member-at-Large

Michael Ng is a professional engineer (PEng), project manager (PMP), and operational lead with diverse industry experience. Having started his career as a field engineer in Alberta's oil patch, Michael advanced into design work, working as an electrical engineer on refineries. When an opportunity arose in project management, Michael shifted his career into the utility industry, executing over $800 million in projects for a transmission facility owner (TFO). His career highlights include the system upgrades associated with the Keephills 3 generator, installing Alberta's first phase-shifting transformer, and successful energization of the Heartland Transmission Line, including Alberta's first 5OOkV gas-insulated line.

Most recently, Michael returned to oil and gas, and served as an operational director for a consulting company, leading organizational change and strategic planning, while driving performance through a tumultuous economy. Michael has also focused on AC (alternating current) interference mitigation in his career. He developed a standardized approach for this work within the TFO, completed his MBA Capstone project on this topic, and later continued to advance AC mitigation through his latest role in the service industry.

Born and raised in Alberta, Michael looks forward to applying his skill set and experiences for the betterment of all Albertans.

Don Oszli

Don Oszli

Member
Alberta Chambers of Commerce

Don Oszli is a Managing Partner in the public accounting firm, Pivotal LLP. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta and is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor. Throughout his career, Don has chaired a number of industry association committees, including the Travel Alberta Board of Directors, Red Deer Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Institute of Chartered Accountants Audit Committee, Alberta Chambers of Commerce Executive, Red Deer Regional Airport Authority and The Leadership Centre.

Since 2017, Don has served as the Chair of Parkland Class, a not-for-profit corporation and registered charity employing 600 people and providing disability support for adults and children in need. He became a  Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2004 and was awarded the Gus Bakke Memorial Award by the Canadian Home Builders Association, as well as the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award.

For the past 25 years, Don has taught at the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta and created new professional development course material. He has authored numerous publications, including Orientation to Public Practice (Level I and Level II) and Public Accounting Registration Criteria (PARC) Modules 3, 4 and 5, published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Faith-Michael Uzoka

Faith-Michael Uzoka

Member-at-Large

Faith-Michael Uzoka (BSc, MS, MBA, PhD) is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computing at Mount Royal University (MRU), Calgary. He has about 30 years of university teaching and research experience in four countries.  Michael is an accomplished scholar with over 100 academic publications that have made global impacts in various aspects of human endeavour, especially in medical decision support systems. He has worked with research collaborators to develop award-winning innovations; e.g., automatic pill dispenser, smart medical assistant, and a system for the early differential diagnosis of tropical confusable diseases.

Michael served as a Canadian Commonwealth Scholar, Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, and Research Development Officer (MRU). He is passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and places a high premium on EDI's value in governance and community relations. Michael chairs the EDI Committee of the Faculty of Science and Technology and sits on the President's Advisory Committee on EDI at MRU.

Karen Rosvold

Karen Rosvold

Member

Karen Rosvold was elected to the RMA Board of Directors in November 2022 as the Director for District 4. Karen has served as a councillor for the County of Grande Prairie since winning a by-election in May 2016. During that time, she concurrently served on the board for the Family Community Support Services Association of Alberta (FCSSAA). She also continues to serve on the boards for the County of Grande Prairie Library, Grand Spirit Housing Management, and many more. Committee work for the RMA includes the Affordable Housing Task Force, the AFRRCS Council and the FCSS Steering Committee.

Karen and her husband live near LaGlace, Alberta. They continue to farm approximately 3,000 acres of land and raise around 300 head of cattle together with their son and his family. In addition to farming and her public service, Karen has worked in customer service, property management, automotive service, and finance. Being a proud mother and grandmother, she feels driven to make a difference for her family in her community.

Humphrey Banack

Humphrey Banack

Member
Alberta Federation of Agriculture

Mr. Humphrey Banack and his family operate a 7000-acre third generation grains and oilseeds farm in the Round Hill area, 50 miles southeast of Edmonton. His farm has grown from a small mixed operation into a larger, more complex operation requiring considerable management time. Humphrey has been involved with the Alberta Federation of Agriculture since 2003, serving as president for four years. He served as Vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture from 2011 to 2017, meeting agricultural producers from across Canada and around the world.

Mr. Banack was born and raised in the Round Hill area and has been deeply involved in the community his entire life. He understands the growing challenges that rural communities face today such as decreasing population, increasing costs, and providing the necessary programs that enliven rural communities.

Mike Pashak

Mike Pashak

Member
Alberta Municipalities

Mike is a third-generation property owner on Sylvan Lake, and is in his second term on Council for the Summer Village of Half Moon Bay. He is President of the Association of Summer Villages of Alberta, which provides a forum for all Summer Villages and represents the interests of members at all levels of government. Mike is an executive-level business professional with 30 years of experience in the electric utility industry. He has a proven ability to build relationships with governments, regulators, industry peers and stakeholders.