City releases energy commodity rates for August

By Medicine Hat News on August 4, 2023.

The City of Medicine Hat has released its energy commodity rates for the month of August.

The city announced the new figures in a Tuesday release, with default regulated rates for natural gas and electricity seeing rises from last month.

The natural gas RRO is now set at $3.215 per gigajoule, up from $2.448 last month. A city release notes the rate is “based on the average of the monthly gas charges set by Alberta gas distribution (pipes) owners.” Direct Energy Regulated Services (North and South) rate for august is set at $3.368 per gigajoule, while APEX Utilities Inc. (formerly AltaGas) is set at $3.061.

The third-quarter fixed contact for natural gas is offering $4.226 per gigajoule. Customers who signed a fixed contract between July 1 and Sept. 30 are guaranteed the fixed rate for 12 months.

The July variable contract rate was set at $3.354 per gigajoule, based upon the AECO average market price, plus $1 per gigajoule.

The August electricity rate for residential, farm, small and medium commercial, unmetered services and rental lighting customers is now $0.29673 per kilowatt hour, up from $0.24924 in July. The RRO billed rate, which includes the City of Medicine Hat Recovery rate of $0.00833, is $0.30506.

The third-quarter fixed contract rate is set at $0.16944 per kWh, which is available on a 12-month term until Sept. 30.

The July variable contract rate is $0.175 per kWh, which includes a $0.02 premium.

For large commercial, industrial and street lighting customers, the August default electricity rate is based upon the RRO of $0.29673 per kWh, excluding recovery rate, while the variable contract rate, based upon the Alberta Power Pool price, is $0.175 for July.

Customers will also see a Going Green charge on their utility bill – a surcharge for renewable energy purchased for residential, farm, small and medium commercial customers. The surcharge, calculated monthly, sits at $0.001 per kWh for August.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated the RRO billed rate for electricity was $3.0506, when it is in fact $0.30506