Direct Energy Regulated Services (DERS) has announced the regulated natural gas rates for November 2024. For customers in the ATCO Gas South service area, which includes residents south of Red Deer, the rate has increased from $0.627 per GJ in October to $1.955 per GJ. Based on an average consumption of 14 gigajoules (GJ), residents can expect their gas bill to be approximately $177 this month.
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"This rate reflects a market price for November supplies of approximately $1.708 per GJ, as reported by the NGX, and incorporates an adjustment of $0.247 per GJ for October and prior months," DERS stated.
Isabelle Michaud, Director of Alberta Business for Direct Energy, explained how the regulated natural gas rate is set each month. Factors like global market prices and historical usage influence the rate.
"We take a look at what the estimates are for the market price in the upcoming month, so how much it’ll cost us to purchase that gas on behalf of our customers," Michaud explained.
Weather conditions can also play a role. The increase in November is mainly due to a rise in market prices. Additionally, Direct Energy implemented a "true-up" to adjust for the under-collection of costs from October.
"Customers need to pay a bit more in November to catch up for the under-collection in October," Michaud added.
If market conditions change in the opposite direction—such as through warmer weather or lower prices—customers may receive refunds in the following month. Michaud also explained how natural gas consumption can vary depending on the season.
"In the summer, you might only be using one to one and a half gigajoules, so that's very small. But once you start turning up your furnace to heat our homes, which is the largest user of natural gas in Alberta for residential homes, it’s quite an increase."
With colder weather on the horizon, particularly in Alberta's harsh winter months, residents may wonder if prices will continue to rise. Michaud noted that price increases in the winter are not uncommon.
"It is typical for the price to be higher in the winter, and that's generally a result of natural gas storage diminishing," she said.
However, for the winter of 2024-2025, the regulated price is expected to remain relatively low, in the $3 to $4 range. Michaud emphasized that the November 2024 price is the lowest since November 2017. Additionally, a province-wide natural gas rate cap of $6.50 remains in place. Prices are not expected to reach this cap this winter.
Conversely, for residents in the ATCO Gas North service area, the natural gas rate increased from $0.627 per GJ in October to $1.955 per GJ. The adjustment reflects a market price of $1.708 per GJ for November supplies, with an additional $0.247 per GJ adjustment for previous months. For a typical residential customer using 14 GJ, the expected gas bill for November in the North is approximately $200.
DERS also announced the Regulated Rate Option (RRO) for electricity, which has increased by about 1% compared to October. The RRO reflects the price DERS pays to purchase electricity for customers.
A typical residential customer consuming 600 kWh monthly will see a $4.29 decrease in their total electricity bill. The price of electricity for residential customers, including the recovery charge, will be 10.455 cents per kWh. Rates for other sectors, such as commercial and industrial, vary slightly depending on the usage category.
The Alberta Utilities Commission has verified and approved both the electricity and natural gas rates.
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