City utility costs down but still above fixed-rate options

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on April 2, 2022.

https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

Floating utility rates in Medicine Hat will fall back slightly in April, but remain above fixed rates offered by the city after high prices during the high-use winter months.

The power price will drop one-tenth of a penny to 10.63 cents per kilowatt hour this month, while natural gas falls to $4.59 per gigajoule, down from $4.94 in March.

Those compare to fixed-rate options of 8 cents for power and $4.35 for gas, though administrators warn that floating rates may move below fixed prices during lower-use periods in the spring and fall.

Gas prices offered around the province varied significantly with Medicine Hat officials using the average to determine local default price.

The comparable gas prices in the calculation were $3.91 from Apex Utilities and $5.28 from Direct Energy.

The spread in power prices ranged from 10.32 cents from Enmax to 10.82 cents for Epcor’s customers in Edmonton.

In February city council approved a plan to allow customers who signed up for the cheaper fixed-rate option to receive the price difference in January retroactively as a credit on their bill.

That program, which expired Feb. 28, saw 2,600 bills add a fixed power price, bringing the portion on fixed power pricing to about half.