CHAT News File Photo

By Chris Brown

April utility rates released, the first out of the temporary electricity price cap and deferral

Apr 3, 2023 | 11:04 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The City of Medicine Hat released its April rates Monday, the first ones set at the end of the temporary electricity price cap and deferral system and the start of a new quarter for those choosing the regulated rate option.

The April price of electricity for residential customers on the regulated rate option is 15.775 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), down from the previous month of 20.054 cents. The rate is in the middle of the 17.662 cents from Direct Energy and the 14.872 cents set by Epcor (outside Edmonton).

However, the actual billed rate for Medicine Hat RRO customers will be 17.573 cents. This is 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 recovery rate is 1.798 cents for April.

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 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.

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The March 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 March variable rate is 19.463 cents (including the two-cent premium). The rate for April will be released May 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 $3.569 per gigajoule (GJ), up from the previous month of $2.537 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 March rate is $3.971 per GJ (including the $1 premium). The rate for April will be released May 1, 2023.

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.