Currently, as it stands in 2026, Albertans advance their clocks during the spring in observance of a practice known as daylight saving time. In the fall, clocks are reset back to standard time.
As of March 26, 2026, the Alberta government is seeking input from industry and key stakeholders to assess the impacts of staying on a single time zone year-round. They are conducting targeted engagement with industries and the key stakeholders in Alberta to:
- Understand the impacts a permanent time zone would have on operations.
- Understand stakeholder preferences for which time zone Alberta should permanently switch between MST (Mountain Standard Time, which are winter hours from Nov to Mar) or MDT (Mountain Daylight Time, which are the province’s summer hours, from Mar to Nov.)
Many governments across North America and Europe are considering or have already moved towards a fixed time zone. Some examples that observe a permanent time zone are:
- Saskatchewan observes a permanent Central Standard Time (CST UTC-6:00)
- British Columbia moved to a permanent Daylight Saving Time year-round in the Pacific Time Zone (PT UTC-7:00)
- Yukon also follows the Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7:00) year-round, which is the same as BC moving forward.
If Alberta adopted permanent MDT, the province would share a common time zone with Saskatchewan (CST), and similarly, if Alberta decided to adopt a permanent MST, the province would be on par with BC for PT. In 2018, the provincial government engaged Albertans on stopping the biannual clock and instead adopting year-round observance of Daylight Saving Time. Of 141,280 responses, 91% were in favour of moving permanently to Daylight Saving Time. And again in 2021, they held a referendum asking voters if they wanted to eliminate the need to change our clocks twice a year. The result of that was that out of 1,068,656 valid ballots, 50.2% voted ‘No’ to continue with changing clocks twice a year.
Stakeholders were called and/or emailed with the scope of discussion and scheduled for a short virtual meeting, and they were informed of the time zones that both BC and Saskatchewan follow and their preferences as to which time zone Alberta should permanently switch to will be collected. The government also sought stakeholder perspectives as to the transition period needed for ministries and organizations to change their systems and operations to support a permanent time zone change. Engagement feedback will inform potential impacts of a permanent time zone switch on industry and government services.
How will the potential move to permanent daylight savings affect the electricity market?
While the time change being permanent may not seem like it would affect much, it can and is projected to, at least by a small margin. Electricity demand may rise by 1%, depending on which way we move into a permanent time zone, whether it be PT or MDT. The higher morning usage during winter months may out weight energy saving measure in the evenings. On the flipside, it would be the summer when more power is used as the hours are changed.
Studies indicate that the year-round daylight saving time will affect the spring/fall transition, which will result in a roughly 1.6% rise in electricity use during transition periods, which is about 1% overall, as stated earlier. A shift in peak hours, such as reducing the need for lights in the evening, will increase the need for lighting and heating during the early, dark winter mornings more than the usual peak load.
A permanent DST also means later, darker mornings for commutes and industry. Workers and children having to start everything later when it is still dark means that there will be a potential for businesses and households needing to increase their lighting and heating usage, thus increasing electricity bills. With BC moving to a permanent DST and Saskatchewan already on a permanent Standard time, Alberta may be adopting this to avoid being in the Pacific “island” in time zones, despite a 2021 referendum showing slim opposition to changing clocks.
The shift removes the biannual “Spring forward” kind of shock, but it will create a longer, darker morning, which is the primary driver of increased energy use in the electricity sector.
Examples from other provinces:
- The Government of Saskatchewan is responsible for The Time Act, which is an act that was introduced to allow the people of Saskatchewan to have one uniform time in the summer but allowed areas on the western side of the province to vote on whether to observe MST or CST during the winter months.
- During the summer months, all of Saskatchewan observes CST. Only the Battle River (Lloydminster) Tim Option area follows MST during the winter. The rest of the province observes CST year-round. Theoretically, Saskatchewan is located within the MST zone, so for most of the province, clocks are one hour advanced from this.
- BC, as of March, 2026, has switched over to a permanent daylight savings time for increased evening winter light and to help negate the disruption to businesses and households that happens twice a year with time changes. BC has a lot of tourism as well, and has a more stable environment for businesses, especially for sports and tourism. This shift has applied to most of BC, with exceptions including parts of the northeast such as Dawson’s Creek and Fort Nelson, and other small communities that are already using Mountain Time.
Ultimately, the time change difference as far as electricity prices are concerned, for households and businesses will more than likely be negligible, if not too noticeable. There are better and easier ways to save money on your electricity bill than to worry about what changes daylight savings may or may not influence.
Alberta’s energy-only market and the timing change can, at first, possibly affect prices, but overall, it may only affect 0.5% to 1% of any pricing changes that may occur. In other areas, extending daylight saving time saved approximately 0.5 percent of daily electricity consumption, which can effectively total up to 1.3 trillion watt-hours.
For more information on electricity and energy savings tips, news, and information, such as energy retailers in your area and for other energy saving for your household or business builds, EnergyRates.ca can help you get the best deal to save some money on your utility bills.
