City’s default natural gas rate drops again

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on March 4, 2026.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

The local natural gas default rate continues to fall in 2026.

On Tuesday, the City of Medicine Hat set its March natural gas rate at $1.641 per gigajoule, down more than 60 cents from from January’s rate of $2.277. The January rate represented a similar drop from the month before, after December recorded the highest rates of 2025 with a natural gas default rate of $3.293.

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

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.

8
-7