The City of Burnaby is criticizing the National Energy Board for allowing Kinder Morgan to charge customers a fee to fund the Trans Mountain pipeline application. The criticism comes on the heels of a study by economist Robyn Allan that suggests those costs are then passed onto consumers.
“This is shocking and unfair,” said Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan in a media release. “The NEB approved this agreement in advance and is now sitting in judgment of the resulting application. The NEB has authorized only $1.5 million dollars for all other intervenors. How fair is that?”
According to Allan’s study, the National Energy Board approved a $1.45 per barrel surcharge that Kinder Morgan could charge current customers in order to fund the application to expand the Tran Mountain pipeline. That $1.45 fee translates to approximately one cent per litre in added gasoline costs and adds up to $136 million earmarked for the company’s application.
“Consumers are funding the security for Kinder Morgan investors, but where is the funding for people whose homes, schools and businesses are at risk,” Allan asked in the release. “They didn’t get $136 million to protect their interests.”
Allan cited Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan Canada, who told investors that if “the project doesn’t succeed or we don’t get the permits, all the development costs are being covered by the firm service fees that we are collecting, so there is no risk to us.”
That doesn’t sit well with Corrigan, a staunch opponent of the pipeline expansion.
“The company gets their costs paid by the consumer, but Burnaby and our citizens have to pay our own costs to protect ourselves,” he said. “The integrity of the National Energy Board is seriously compromised here. It appears they have already made up their mind.”
No one from the National Energy Board or Kinder Morgan was available for immediate comment.
