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By rdnewsNOW Staff

Cost of Living

December regulated natural gas rate remains steady

Nov 24, 2022 | 5:32 PM

The provincial government has announced that Alberta’s natural gas rate will remain stable for December, with protection in place to shield Albertans from future price spikes.

Provincial officials say Alberta’s economy has recovered strongly, but Albertans are struggling to heat their homes and feed their families and the government wants to help.

In the coming weeks, Alberta’s government says it will announce new measures to increase protection from natural gas and electricity price spikes this winter, all part of the Affordability Action Plan.

The government says Alberta’s natural gas rebate program continues to offer price protection for Albertans from volatile natural gas prices. As December’s highest monthly default natural gas rate will be $6.167 per gigajoule, the rebate will not be triggered, note officials.

How the rebate works

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To support natural gas consumers this winter, the government says the natural gas rebate program is ready and in place to protect Albertans. The exact rebate amount that consumers will receive, however, depends on the default natural gas rate each month.

Should the monthly default natural gas rate from any of the regulated utility providers (ATCO Gas North and ATCO Gas South, as served by Direct Energy Regulated Services or Apex Utilities) exceed $6.50 per gigajoule, the government says it will provide rebates to all eligible consumers covering the difference. For example, officials explain, if the highest regulated rate is $7.50, eligible consumers would get a rebate of $1 for every gigajoule used in that month.

More than 1.6 million Albertans are said to be eligible for a rebate, including consumers connected to the natural gas distribution system and those not connected to the natural gas distribution system but using natural gas, propane, kerosene or heating oil for heating purposes. More details can be found in the affordability programs section on alberta.ca.

Alberta government quick facts

• In Alberta, the default regulated rates are set for the entire month and do not fluctuate. Rates are approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission and are not determined by the government.
• The rebate will appear as an individual line item on the natural gas portion of the bill under “GOA Utility Commodity Rebate.”
  • If the monthly default rate posted on alberta.ca is above $6.50 per gigajoule, eligible consumers will automatically receive the rebate credited on the bill for that month’s usage.
  • If the monthly default rate posted on alberta.ca is at or below $6.50 per gigajoule, no rebate will be provided and no line item will appear on that month’s bill.
• The rebate for petroleum-based heating fuels will be calculated in the same method as for natural gas consumers, using a standardized equation to determine the consumption equivalency for the alternative fuel.
• The Government of Alberta will not send texts or emails about the rebate program and will not ask Albertans to submit personal information via text or email to receive rebates.