Alberta Electricity Switching Statistics 2012-2026: Competitive vs. Regulated Rates
Alberta’s deregulated electricity and natural gas markets have been quite active for the past decade. According to a July 2026 report by the Market Surveillance Administrator (MSA), an impressive market shift happened between 2012 and 2026, with an increase of energy consumers moving from the default regulated rate to competitive energy retailers: a 49.2% change for electricity and 41.3% for natural gas customers. This means almost 5 in 10 Albertans have switched to competitive energy options, and 8 in 10 are now under such plans.
In 2012, the default electricity market share (previously known as RRO) was 68.4%, compared to 31.6% competitive. For natural gas, the default market share (DRT) was 66.1% in 2012, dropping to 24.8% in 2026.
This is a fast-paced change even for shorter time ranges: For the 2024-2025 period alone, the competitive share grew from about 74% to around 81% in just one year.
Decreasing regulated site counts in Alberta
Other reports demonstrate that same trend by reviewing the historical site counts. According to a March 2026 report by the MSA, total RoLR site counts fell by 16% (approximately 79,700 sites) in 2025, more than double the 7% decline (35,900 sites) in regulated site counts in 2024.
There were 663K regulated sites in Alberta on January 1, 2023. On December 31, 2025, the number was much smaller: 389K sites.
Regulated sites are how industry stakeholders usually refer to areas with power serviced by regulated providers. A site can be, for example, a house, an apartment, a commercial site, or an office or commercial building suite.
Fewer regulated electricity and natural gas customers
The Rate of Last Resort Report by the MSA shows how the decline in regulated-rate customers becomes evident when reviewing the December 31 numbers. Below, you can compare the regulated energy market share that day for a range of years:
- December 31, 2023: 27%
- December 31, 2024: 25%
- December 31, 2025: 20%
- December 31, 2026 (forecasted by the MSA): 15%
Why have so many Albertans left the regulated energy plans?
There’s a range of factors that made about 81% of Albertans move to competitive retail plans. The change from RRO to RoLR was a big push when it was announced in 2024. The name change, from Regulated Rate Option to Rate of Last Resort, made it clearer for consumers that the default option wasn’t necessarily a safety net and that it wasn’t the most financially advantageous plan.
This change was also accompanied by campaigns from the Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA) encouraging consumers to switch to competitive options and advising RoLR customers of their right to compare energy plans.
Even before that, in 2023, the regulated market had lost 25% of its users (163,700 sites) due to record-high energy rates that year. In August 2023, the RRO price peaked at an average of 31.486 cents/kWh. Meanwhile the fixed rate average for the month was 10.839 cents/kWh (97% lower), and the floating rate average was 24.281cents/kWh (25% lower). The unstable market caused higher levels of energy bill fluctuations and made RRO prices quite volatile.
The switching trend in Alberta for the past few years is also the result of an ongoing data-based consumer awareness shift. Over time, Albertans noticed that competitive retailer prices had been consistently lower (and more stable, for the case of fixed-rate plans) than the regulated averages.
How energy consumers can save in Alberta
The numbers above show how most Albertans have left the RoLR, and how the trend continues at a fast pace. If you’re still under the default electricity rate, this means there are quite a lot more money-saving energy plans available. Over the course of 2026, the RoLR prices were often 70% higher than fixed-rate plans. The difference is even wider when compared to floating rates.
RoLR customers are not the only ones who could get the most out of the current savings opportunities. Many competitive retailer customers who signed up for plans years ago — back when market rates were high — could be paying much less on energy costs today. Some plans have decreased more than 50% since 2023. This means 50% lower costs for the energy charge portion of your energy bill.
That’s when tools like EnergyRates.ca come in handy. Our energy price comparison tool allows you to review all current energy plans available in Alberta from the major energy suppliers, so you can check if you’re saving as much as possible.
We are Canada’s leading energy rate comparison tool. We are free and 100% unbiased and can help you compare both natural gas and electricity rates in Alberta.
Whether households or businesses, you can compare energy rates in the form above and find out if you could be paying less on your utility bills. Commercial, large commercial and industrial electricity and natural gas consumers can get a free custom quote based on their energy consumption at EnergyRates.ca. All you have to do is go to the form above and start comparing!
