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By Chris Brown

City releases utility rates for February

Feb 1, 2023 | 12:13 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – City of Medicine Hat customers on the default regulated rate for natural gas will pay less compared to January while electricity customers on the same rate will pay more.

At the start of the year a new system for utility rates and billing was introduced. The city released its February rates today.

The natural gas rate, based on the weighted average 120-day buying window price for the forecasted volume, is $5.218 per gigajoule down from $6.117 per gigajoule.

The first-quarter fixed rate is $6.607 per GJ. Customers who sign a fixed contract between Jan. 1 and March 31 are guaranteed this fixed rate for 12 months.

The January variable rate, based on the Alberta Energy Company average market reference price plus $1 per GJ, is $4.536 per GJ including the $1 premium. The rate for February will be released on March 1.

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Direct Energy Regulated Services, which covers rural homes in our area, offers a residential rate of $3.715 per GJ or a fixed per-day rate of $0.294 per GJ.

Electricity

The February price of electricity for residential customers on the regulated rate option is 31.914 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), up from the previous month of 28.639 cents. The rate is in the middle of the 32.957 cents from Epcor (Edmonton) and the 29.677 cents set by Enmax.

The provincial government has placed a temporary cap for January, February and March of 13.5 cents on the price for those on the regulated rate option. The price difference between the temporary cap and the calculated monthly regulated rate will be deferred and then charged over a 21-month recovery period from April 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2024.

The first-quarter fixed contract electricity commodity rate offering is 17.653 cents per kilowatt hour. The rate is available to those who sign a fixed contract between Jan. 1 and March 31, and are guaranteed this rate for 12 months.

The February variable contract rate for residential customers is based on the monthly average Alberta Power Pool price as established and published by the Alberta Electrical System Operator plus two cents per kWh. The January variable rate is 14.613 cents (including the two-cent premium). The rate for February will be released March 1.

The province is offering rebates on electricity bills until April. Albertans will get $75 rebates on their utility bills for January and February and another $25 in March and April.