Local utility rates still about half the provincial average

By Medicine Hat News on February 2, 2024.

Local utility rates for February will remain at about half the provincial average – the system Medicine Hat power used to determine prices before late 2023.

At that time, council approved a new interim rate-setting policy to address complaints over record-high prices in the summer and confusing contract options.

The blanket rate for power this month will essentially be unchanged from January at 9.23 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity, and will next substantially change April 1 for the following three months. Four regulated rate options in Alberta for the month produce an average price of 17.9 cents.

The local rate for natural gas this month will be $2.49 per gigajoule, up about 55 cents from January, but much less than the default rates offered by Apex or Direct Energy, whose rates average out to $4.19.

Medicine Hat now sets its power price in relation to the 12-month price forecast of the Alberta wholesale power market, which provides rates for power marketers that add a markup when it is resold to customers.

Local gas rates are currently set at the weighted average cost of gas the city buys on the Alberta market plus a 7-cent per gigajoule rate of return.