Natural gas rate drops for second straight month after December peak

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on February 3, 2026.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

The local natural gas default rate has fallen for the second month in a row to begin 2026.

On Monday, the City of Medicine Hat set its February natural gas rate at $2.277 per gigajoule, down from the previous month of $2.865 per GJ, a decrease of nearly 60 cents.

January’s rate was a 43-cent drop from December, which was the highest rate of 2025. Natural gas rates climbed from an August low of $0.642 GJ to the December high of $3.293.

The rate includes a $0.07 per GJ fee used to recover transactional costs and a small rate of return.

City council approved a small increase for gas utility services in December. The increase is expected to average $0.81 for gas utility services as well as $2.25 for electric utility services.

Small and large commercial customers will also experience an increase of approximately three to four per cent in 2026 under the new bylaw changes.

The calculated electricity rate for January, February and March was set at $0.05000 per kWh, however this defaults to the minimum price allowed under local bylaws. This means ratepayers for residential, farm, small and medium commercial will be 7 cents per kWh. That rate will be recalculated April 1.

Large commercial and industrial ratepayers will pay $0.12025 per kWh, on par with rates in Calgary and Edmonton.

All customers will also be charged a $0.0046 per kWh ‘Going Green’ surcharge, used for renewable energy purchased for residential, farm, small and medium commercial customers.

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