About 1 in 20 customers using utility deferral program
By COLLIN GALLANT on May 2, 2020.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant About four per cent of Medicine Hat utility customers are taking advantage of a billing deferral program brought in to help ease personal finances during the COVID pandemic response, the News has learned. Six weeks after the local officials launched the program that follows a provincial order, about 1,300 customers have left amounts owing on bills without the potential of late fees or disconnection. That rough figure amounts to 4.3 per cent of the total customer base in Medicine Hat and power customers in Redcliff and parts of Cypress County, or equal to about one in every 20 accounts. “We’ll get a better sense in the next month of how many people will need it,” said city corporate services commissioner Dennis Egert. “In the short term, people may be using it as a bridge until other (income) supports are available from other levels of governments – that was the intent of the program.” Officials have stressed that the deferral program is not a cancellation or discount on bills, but rather allowing amounts to be billed in full on June 15. They recommend payments be made as needed or possible to avoid a balloon payment later. Egert said it’s not unusual for customers to miss a monthly payment for a variety of reasons, and the current program is automatic without the need to apply. The figures are also being checked weekly by administrators, but to this point, the time frame includes at least one full billing cycle for every account. Rates stay flat Utility rates will remain essentially flat in Medicine Hat in May, the city’s utility department reported on Friday. The rate for electricity dropped one-10th of a cent to sit at 5.607-cents per kilowatt hour, compared to April, while the natural gas fell by about one penny, to $2.27 per gigajoule. The City of Medicine Hat sets rates at the average of power distribution company default contract prices across Alberta. However, bulk power sales and prices on the provincial grid system are showing marked decline, and Medicine Hat’s power plant depends on those prices to earn extraordinary profits. The Alberta Electric System Operator reported on Friday that the average price on the Alberta grid settled at 2.8-cents per kilowatt hour during the week – less than one half the year-to-date average of 5.8 cents. Prices typically fall in the early spring, which sits between the time winter usage spikes and summertime demand rises as air-conditioning needs grow. 15-14
