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Utilities in Alberta

Utilities in Alberta

In Alberta, you typically have two options when purchasing electricity and natural gas. You can stay on the Regulated Rate Option (RRO), or you can sign a contract with a Competitive Retailer to secure a Competitive Rate for your energy (electricity and natural gas). Depending on where you live, you may receive water through your municipality or a private utility.

Regulated Retailers

If you have not signed a contract for natural gas or electricity, assume you are being served by a Regulated Retailer. In this scenario, the rates you pay per unit of energy will change each month. The rates are reviewed and approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) in Alberta and reflect current market prices. This means that the amount you pay will fluctuate based on various conditions, such as natural disasters that could impact the price of certain resources. Sometimes, you'll save money on energy bills. Other times, you'll end up paying more.

Potential benefits of a Regulated Retailer

Potential risks of a Regulated Retailer

Find Regulated Retailers for electricity and natural gas in Alberta by visiting the Utilities Consumer Advocate.

Utilities Consumer Advocate

Competitive Retailers

If you choose a Competitive Retailer, you and the retailer will enter into a contract for an agreed upon price and length of time. During this time, your energy rates will be either fixed, variable, or a combination of both.
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With a fixed rate, your bills will still vary each month but the price you pay per unit of energy (per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity and/or per gigajoule (GJ) of natural gas) will remain the same, or "fixed". If you select a fixed rate, your utility company is guaranteeing that your utility rate will stay the same for a specified period of time.
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With a variable rate (also known as a floating rate), energy prices are based on current market conditions for electricity and natural gas. This means that the price you pay per kWh of electricity and/or per GJ of natural gas will depend on how much electricity or natural gas currently costs.

Potential benefits of a Competitive Retailer

Potential benefits of an Independent Gas Marketer

Water and sewage services

Depending on whether you live in an urban or rural community, water and sewage services will be provided by either your municipality (if you live in an urban center) or by a private utility (for rural communities).

For more information, visit your local municipality's website.

Copyright © 2023 Kambo Energy Group Inc.

Kambo Energy Group respectfully acknowledges the unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Territories, on which many of our team live and work. We also gratefully acknowledge the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations), as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations), on which our team also lives and works.