Natural gas prices continue to climb in December

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on December 2, 2025.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

The price for natural gas is set to climb again, while power prices remain at the minimum mandated rate.

Updated pricing from the municipal utility department shows December’s natural gas default rate is rising to $3.293 per gigajoule, up from October’s $2.647.

The natural gas rate is based on the weighted average cost of the of the city’s natural gas purchases for the month of consumption, plus an added seven cents per GJ to recover transaction costs and a small rate of return.

Electrical rates were set for the last quarter of 2025 in October. The rate for the months of October through December is set at 5.15 cents per kWh. However, under the local Electric Utility Bylaw, prices will remain at the minimum of 7 cents per kWh, the same as the previous quarter.

The rate is based on a 12-month volume-weighted forecast of the wholesale electricity energy market, not to exceed a maximum of 11 cents per kWh or go below a minimum of seven cents per kWh.

The rate will next be recalculated on the first business day of January 2026. As power rates in the province’s wholesale market have kept low, the rate in Medicine Hat has remained at the mandated minimum of seven cents since July 2024.

Rates for large commercial, industrial and street lighting customers are set at $0.12025 per kWh, which is on par with the rest of the province. EPCOR Energy in Alberta and Edmonton have set rates at $0.12010.

All ratepayers will also be charged $0.0043 per kWh for the ‘Going Green’ surcharge. This surcharge is for renewable energy purchased for residential, farm, small and medium commercial customers.

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