By Chris Brown

Electricity and natural gas rates down for May

May 2, 2023 | 4:45 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The City of Medicine Hat released its May utility rates on Monday.

The May price of electricity for residential customers on the regulated rate option is 13.966 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), but Medicine Hat RRO customers will actually be billed 15.775 cents due to the additional recovery rate of 1.789 cents.

The recovery rate is needed due to the removal of a temporary price cap and deferral system the province installed for January, February and March and the subsequent recovery of those funds.

The funds that were deferred in the first three months of this year will be recovered over the next 21 months until the end of 2024. For more details about the recovery rate, visit medicinehat.ca/RegulatedRate.

The rate before the recovery charge is in the middle of the 14.207 cents from Direct Energy and the 13.567 cents set by Enmax.

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The second-quarter fixed contract electricity commodity rate offering is 15.793 cents per kilowatt hour. The rate is available to those who sign a fixed contract between April 1 and June 30, and are guaranteed this rate for 12 months.

The April 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 April variable rate is 16.234 cents (including the two-cent premium). The rate for May will be released June 1.

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

Natural gas

The natural gas rate for default or regulated rate option (RRO) customers is $2.249 per gigajoule (GJ), down from the previous month of $3.569 per GJ.

The second-quarter fixed rate is $4.866 per GJ. Customers who sign a fixed contract between April 1 and June 30 are guaranteed this fixed rate for 12 months.

The March variable contract offering is based on the Alberta Energy Company average market reference price plus $1 per GJ. The April rate is $3..372 per GJ (including the $1 premium). The rate for May will be released on June 1.

On Feb. 28 the city reverted to the previous method for calculating the default natural gas rate months after a new way was adopted after an omission of a clause to amend the methodology was discovered.