Fort McMurray Electricity Providers and Natural Gas Retailers
Residential and small business customers in the Fort McMurray area have a number of electricity and natural gas retailers to choose from, including:
- AltaGas
- ATCOenergy
- Burst Energy
- Direct Energy
- Encor by EPCOR
- ENMAX Energy
- Hudson Energy
- Just Energy
- TransAlta
- Spot Power
Regulated electricity and natural gas service in Fort McMurray is provided by Direct Energy Regulated Services.
The History of Electricity and Natural Gas in Fort McMurray
Fort McMurray, which existed as an independent city until 1995, is part of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. With a population of just over 60,000, Fort McMurray has served a role in the history of Canadian energy production that far outstrips its small size.
As early as the 1790s, explorers noted the existence of oil sands, which indigenous inhabitants used to waterproof their canoes. The technology needed to take advantage of this resource wouldn’t exist for more than a century. In the meantime, a great deal of oil exploration occurred, and in the 1920s, Alcan Oil Company built Fort McMurray’s first refining plant.
A decade later, another company, Abasands Oil, was the first to extract the precious oil from the difficult-to-process oil sands through the use of hot water extraction. Production was low at the outset, but escalated over the next several years. By World War II, Canadian and American interests used it as a home base during the construction of the Canol Pipeline.
In the 1960s, the Great Canadian Oil Sands plant opened and Fort McMurray’s production of oil truly began to soar. Interest in the region was further piqued by the petroleum shortages of the 1970s, and several more oil sands plants opened in the region over the next two decades.
Fort McMurray’s fortunes dimmed with the fall in world oil prices during the mid-1980s — coinciding with the beginning of Canada’s deregulation of the energy market — and a number of the plants closed due to the inherently high cost of processing oil sands.
However, with the increase in oil prices in the 15 years, interest in the area’s resources has rapidly redeveloped. In the near future, Fort McMurray may again play a sizeable role in the Canadian energy industry.
What About Water?
The Athabasca River is the main source of drinking water to thousands of residents in Fort McMurray and surrounding communities through an extensive network of pipelines, pumping stations, and storage facilities designed to ensure reliability and safety, covering a wide and remote areas.
To guarantee the quality before being delivered to residents, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo runs the water treatment plan to follow rigorous water quality testing to meet provincial and federal standards. The advanced treatment processes include filtration, sedimentation, disinfection, and ensure that the water is safe for residents and for daily needs, for residents and businesses.
Water meters are required for most properties in Fort McMurray, and the municipality is responsible for maintaining them by checking leaks and maintenance needs. Therefore, customers are notified of any issues, and if a meter is not functioning properly. As it happens in other cities, water usage may be estimated until repairs are made.
How to Set Up a Water Supply
Utilities are billed once every two months in Fort McMurray, and water bills are typically issued on a regular billing cycle, depending on the type of property. If you are moving into an existing home, you can set up or transfer your account through the municipality’s online services.
To avoid issues and ensure uninterrupted water service, besides accurate billing, it is important to notify the municipality in advance, update your address, and provide your move in date.
But in case you are renting, it’s always recommended to double-check with your landlord or property management company whether the water account is already set up or included in your lease.
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Customer Information
- Customer Care Phoner: 780-743-7000
- Website: Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
- Address: 9909, Franklin Avenue – Fort McMurray. Alberta
