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By Chris Brown

Low prices delay Alberta’s natural gas rebates

Sep 27, 2022 | 4:08 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – When Alberta’s natural gas rebate program kicks in, City of Medicine Hat utility customers could see significant savings on their bills.

The program comes into effect on Oct. 1, but the rebates won’t be applied until at least November.

If the monthly default natural gas rate from any of the regulated utility providers (ATCO Gas North and ATCO Gas South, as served by Direct Energy Regulated Services, or Apex Utilities) goes above $6.50 per gigajoule, the government will provide rebates to all eligible consumers that month covering the difference between $6.50 and the highest regulated rate.

Medicine Hat pegs its monthly rate at the midpoint of the Direct Energy Regulated Services and Apex Utilities, so will never have the highest price in the province. but will still get the full rebate difference between the highest price and $6.50 per gigajoule.

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Using the current September rates as an example, the rebate across the province would have been $1.778, based on the APEX rate of $8.278. Terra Petryshyn of the city’s corporate communications department writes in an email, “since our price was $7.212, and the rebate was $1.778, customers on the Medicine Hat “default” rate would pay $5.434 per GJ after the rebate. Furthermore, customers who are already signed on to Medicine Hat’s Fixed Rate ($4.35 per GJ) would also receive the rebate and would then be paying only $2.572 per GJ.”

READ MORE: Province extends electricity rebates until December

The highest monthly default natural gas rate for October has already been set at $5.632 per gigajoule, and so the rebate will not be triggered this month,

The monthly default natural gas rate will be posted on alberta.ca about five business days before the start of each month, letting Albertans know if the rebate will be triggered and how much they will receive per gigajoule that month.

You will automatically receive the rebate on your utility bill for the month a rebate is triggered if you are a natural gas consumer who is connected to the system, is on either a regulated or competitive plan and uses less than 2,500 gigajoules of natural gas annually.

The province says a small number of eligible Albertans are not connected to the natural gas distribution system and are using natural gas, propane, kerosene or heating oil for heating purposes. Those customers can apply for rebates based on purchased fuel in months in which the rebate is in effect up to the following maximum limits:

• propane: 16,334 litres per month
• heating oil: 10,780 litres per month
• kerosene: 11,068 litres per month
• natural gas: 417 gigajoules per month

People can apply directly online for a rebate at alberta.ca after the program launches in October. Mail-in and telephone options will also be available.

Any rebates will appear on the natural gas portion of the bill under “GOA Utility Commodity Rebate.”

The natural gas rebate program runs from Oct. 1 to March 31.