Natural gas and electricity rates have dropped. (Pexels)

By Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Medicine Hat utility rates drop for January, natural gas 31% cheaper

Jan 2, 2024 | 11:19 AM

Image Credit: Led Light Station https://ledlightstation.com/

Medicine Hat residents will experience cheaper utility bills in January as natural gas and electricity rates have dropped, according to numbers released by the city Tuesday.

The default rate for natural gas is now at $1.9506 per gigajoule, 31 per cent less than December’s rate of $2.827 per gigajoule.

That comes after city council in November amended the gas utility bylaw in order to provide customers with a single natural gas rate starting in 2024.

The January electricity default rate for residential and small to medium businesses is set at $0.09232 per kilowatt hour, about 15 per cent less than the $0.10875 per kilowatt hour in December.

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Utility rates have dropped for January 2024. (CHAT News)

Council in October directed the city to use a single best-of-market rate for residential, farm, small and medium commercial, unmetered services and rental lighting customers that would not exceed 11 cents per kilowatt hour or dip below a minimum rate of seven cents.

The best-of-market rate, launched in November, was put in place as a stopgap measure in response to a dramatic rise in electricity costs in 2023.

Longterm, the city is looking for a vendor to complete a third-party review of it’s energy business unit COMCO with the goal of ensuring it is providing the best value for the community.

RATE DOWN FOR LARGE COMMERCIAL

The January default electricity rate for large commercial, industrial and street lighting customers was set at $0.16897 per kilowatt hour.

In December this rate was set at $0.18310 per kilowatt hour.

The rate is based on the average of the rates for owners whose regulated rate tariffs are approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission under section 103(2) of the Electric Utilities Act for that calendar month as posted by the Alberta Utilities Commission on its internet page under Regulated Rate Option Regulation.

‘GOING GREEN’ CHARGE DOUBLES

Customers also have a “Going Green” surcharge on their bill.

This surcharge is for renewable energy purchased for residential, farm, small and medium commercial customers.

The Going Green surcharge is calculated monthly to recover costs incurred to purchase renewable energy.

The Going Green surcharge for January is $0.002 per kilowatt hour, doubled from the $0.001 per kilowatt hour charged in December.