An export connection from the Big Marble greenhouse complex to the city's power grid has been approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
@MedicineHatNews
Gas rates will rise in March for City of Medicine Hat customers, while power prices remain stuck at a floor rate until they are next reset at the start of April.
Updated pricing from the municipal utility department states that natural gas consumed in March will be charged at $2.194 per gigajoule, up from $1.878 in February, based on an updated rolling average of gas purchasing costs of the city.
Meanwhile, a quarterly price for electricity that follows the Alberta wholesale market power will remain at 7 cents per kilowatt hour. Information provided by the department states the wholesale market rate sits at 4.92 cents per kWh.
The local rate will next be updated on April 1 for the following three months.
Greenhouse hook-up
The Alberta Utilities Commission has approved a plan to instal an export connection from the Big Marble greenhouse compress near Highway 3 to the City of Medicine Hat’s power grid.
The two are already physically connected, but last month the News reported that the two sides were close to finalizing a contract to allow surplus power from Big Marble’s 13.3-megawatt onsite power plant to supply the city’s system.
The AUC ruled on Feb. 27 that the minor alteration will have little effect on the environment or public, and it can therefore proceed without a hearing or further examination.
