When it comes to paying for utilities such as electricity, natural gas, and water – it’s easy to wonder if you’re overpaying, especially in the current economy and with all of the constantly fluctuating prices.
At EnergyRates.ca, we can help with understanding your bill, comparing plans, comparing more than just rates, and staying up to date with rate drops and changes. In this article, we can help you figure out if you might be accidentally overpaying for your utilities and what to do if you are, to help you get a better rate to save you stress and put some cash back into your wallet.
What to look out for and where to start
Some things to look out for when you’re trying to understand if you’re overpaying for utilities are rate comparisons and what to look out for. Comparing more than just energy rates alone is very important and can help make or break your spending, and can also help with any future bills.
Understanding your energy bill is the first step when it comes to determining whether you may be paying more than you need to for your utilities. In Alberta, the market is deregulated, which allows consumers to choose their plans, whether that’s fixed or floating rates. Switching suppliers or changing to different retailers is easier than most customers think, and if you’re able to get a better rate with another retailer that suits your needs and budget better – it can be worth it to do so, to ease financial stress and put some cash back in your wallet.
Compare more than *just* energy rates
Whenever you compare the advertised natural gas or electricity charge only, you’re comparing only a portion of your bill. The admin fee alone will play a significant role in your energy bill, especially if you don’t use a lot of electricity or natural gas.
Depending on your usage, the total retail fee/kWh (which is the combination of the advertised price/kWh and the admin fee based on your consumption) could be completely different from one retailer to the next. This means that the lowest advertised rate may not be the most cost-effective for all consumers.
The potential savings could be really big between different retailers – especially if you’re only looking at one aspect of comparing rates.
Please check our pricing matrix to see how it works: If you live in Alberta, you just need to enter your postal code in the form above and we will take you to all the available options in your area. The screenshot below exemplifies how you can use our Total Retail Fee/kWh tool to compare more than energy rates on our website.
Review the options with your current retailer
One of the easiest ways to tell if you’re overpaying on energy bills is by checking with your current provider.
Many customers and consumers can miss out on energy savings by not comparing their current bills and rates with the more current and up-to-date ones provided by their retailer, especially if on a fixed-rate plan. For example, if you signed up for a competitive fixed-rate plan in Alberta in 2022, you’ve probably saved hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in energy costs compared to the floating option in 2021-2024. However, since then, prices have gone even lower.
You can compare your current fixed-rate plan to new fixed-rate plans currently available by your retailer/energy provider. Many retailers will allow customers to sign up for a lower rate if you let them know that you’ve done your research and are looking to change your plan because you’re noticing that you’re paying more than new customers just signing up.
As with most types of subscriptions, energy retailers in Alberta are no different and many are willing to upgrade you to keep your business, especially if you are a long-time customer.
Compare multiple types of plans – fixed and floating rates
Fixed and floating rates can provide you with completely different energy bills, depending on current market conditions. Fixed, floating, or regulated energy rates are available to choose between whenever you sign up for electricity utilities in Alberta. These three types of energy plans can of course result in quite different energy costs, depending on the kWh (kilowatt-hour) per month.
It’s best not to analyze only the current energy rates but also historical averages and the electricity price forecast, along with the pros and cons related to floating and fixed rates. It can be a lot of information to parse through, along with most Alberta energy retailers will allow you to choose between the usual floating and fixed rates.
Since the energy market is in itself considerably dynamic and ever-changing, anything can affect electricity prices – including factors you may not think of such as changes in regulations you don’t hear about to natural disasters. Due to these high variables and changes over time, predicting what future rates are going to be, especially in Alberta, can be extremely difficult. As an example, following the COVID-19 pandemic, electricity prices experienced a boom in 2021-2022 and in 2023 they reached high levels, with costs averaging 31. 486¢/kWh in August of 2023, and variable rates averaging 24.751¢/kWh in June 2023. While the fixed rates increased from 7.26¢/kWh average in 2021 upwards to 10.37¢/kWh in 2023 – it still provided greater price stability than other rate plans in comparison. That peace of mind can be beneficial for many consumers.
Who benefits from fixed rates? Any consumer can benefit from fixed rates if they value budget certainty, as they can protect themselves from fluctuating energy costs. In a fixed-rate contract scenario, if you pay 9.90¢/kWh, even if the market were to fluctuate that up to something as high as 40.20¢/kWh, you would still be paying your allotted rate of 9.90¢/kWh month-to-month.
Floating Rates
At a glance at first, floating rates may seem like the worse choice in comparison to fixed rates – why would consumers want to be at the mercy of the variable market with its spikes and changes month to month? There are benefits for the floating rates that may be more than worth it for some consumers, and we’ll go over these. Consumers with floating rates will face entirely different electricity costs, of course, depending on the current market situation. Bills can change considerably from month to month based on these rates.
Some consumers prefer these variable/floating rates to ensure that they pay as little as possible when the rates are low – such plans can be risky however, as they can also spike up unexpectedly and those low, low costs may be offset by expensive fluctuations down the line. An example of this would be a household seeing their rates change from 10¢/kWh to 30¢/kWh from one month to another. Electricity rates fluctuate constantly and quite a lot, so if someone is looking for a predictable and stable budget for their energy needs, the variable plan wouldn’t be ideal.
For those with high risk tolerance, it can be very beneficial, since in some cases, the variable rates can reach lower costs than the current market fixed rates. If you don’t mind taking financial risks and have the budget to deal with a floating and changing energy bill, this could be ideal.
Fixed Rates vs Floating Rates vs ROLR
Another option, that is in fact, the default electricity rate option in Alberta – is available when customers have not signed up for a floating or fixed rate with a retailer, and is somewhat not an option at all. They are automatically placed on the ROLR (the Rate of Last Resort), which is the regulated rate option. This rate is determined by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) every couple of years. It is calculated based on the current market price for electricity and the long-term projections for electricity as well. Because it is calculated every two years, it is more predictable than the previous RRO, which was very prone to unpredictable price swings that was changed every single month. However, currently, the ROLR is higher than all fixed-rate plans, as well as floating plans available in Alberta.
Stay up to date with the current market
With EnergyRates.ca, we do the hard work for you. You can get notified when a new lower rate becomes available. All you have to do is enter your postal code in the form above. This will allow you to visit our pricing matrix, as well as sign up for the rate alerts — You just need to enter your email address in the popup that will appear on your device.
After signing up for the price alerts, you will get an email from us whenever there is a new lowest rate in our table, so you don’t have to worry about doing it manually or researching an ocean of information.
If you would like to get even more information — current prices, market conditions, energy-saving tips, and the factors driving electricity and natural gas prices –, you can also sign up for our monthly newsletter via this link. Our emails are always rich in resources that could help you make smarter energy choices and understand what’s going on in the Canadian electricity and natural gas market.
Check if you’re eligible for financial assistance
There are many options in Alberta for households struggling to pay their bills. Many consumers don’t know their rights and options and could be paying more than they need for utilities. From options for seniors to low-income family support, there is a range of bill assistance options in the province. To learn more about them and see if you’re eligible, check our full guide on obtaining energy bill assistance in Alberta.
Use the available comparison tools
When first signing up for an energy retailer, especially if you’re new to Alberta, it can be a bit daunting as there are many options to go with. While most seem similar, there are differences. Be sure to check out the ones in your area and determine which type of plan you are interested in and what can help you best.
If you’re looking to see if you’re paying too much for your energy bills and rates, EnergyRates.ca can help you compare current energy rates by quickly checking all the available Alberta electricity providers and compare fixed and floating rate prices for both power and natural gas, in an unbiased facts based comparison. All that’s needed is your postal code to check the cheapest rates in your area.
There is also more information available about all energy retailers across the country, regulated providers (Rate of Last Resort), energy and energy-bill saving tips, and to top all of that off – there is also a comparison of Alberta’s electricity and natural gas historical prices so that you can see for yourself which plan you’d like to go with.
