In Alberta, you are free to select both your electricity and natural gas provider for your residential, commercial or industrial utilities; whether you fix your electricity rates to never have to worry about market fluctuations or float with the market to take advantage of lower index prices. If none of those options appealed to you, you could also stay with your default regulated rate provider. We’re about to make the decision-making process easier for you.
NEW! Total Effective Costs Comparison
Introducing the new category for Total Effective Cost.
For buyers who consume electricity or natural gas at a rate in-line with or below the average across the province, the commodity price may not be the biggest determinant of the difference between the prices of two different providers. In fact, in some cases static costs– such as administration fees or how much the retailer charges for the commodity above the market rate—can drastically affect the difference in price between two retailers. On the other hand, for buyers who consume greater amounts of energy, a higher administration fee may be an appropriate trade-off to get a lower utility rate per kilowatt-hour or gigajoule.
Illustrative example: The image above is a screenshot taken in July of 2022 and it doesn’t match the current energy prices in Alberta
The Total Effective Cost column will give you a clearer picture of how much you’ll be expected to pay for your utilities during your term. It factors static fees based on the average rate of consumption for your site type across Alberta to compare the extent to which administration fees affect your utility bills. This yearly average rate of consumption is provided by the Utilities Consumer Advocate. For residents, the average consumption is 528 kWh/mo. and 10.608 GJ/mo.
NEW! Small Business Pricing Table
For small businesses that consume more energy than residential sites, there will be a brand-new pricing matrix. Because businesses often use more energy as part of their daily operations, their levels of consumption would be consistently higher than the average. In addition to this, some utility providers offer special rates for small businesses that differ from those offered to residences. So, using the same pricing matrix as residential consumers wouldn’t prove useful. Thus, our small-business pricing matrix will use the average rate of consumption for small businesses provided by the Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA Helps) of roughly 3,290.88 kWh/mo. and 61.51 GJ/mo.
Why compare?
We often stress the utility of comparing the different products and plans available to you so you can be sure you’re getting the best rate and plan for your home or business. Hopefully, these frequently-requested features will help make your attempts to compare and lower your energy rates easier.
