Natural gas regulated rates remain stable for November

As natural gas prices remain stable, Alberta’s rebate program stands ready to protect families and businesses.

In Budget 2022, Alberta’s government introduced a natural gas rebate program should rates exceed $6.50 per gigajoule from October 2022 through March 2023. As November’s highest monthly default natural gas rate will be $5.641 per gigajoule, the rebate will not be triggered. The rebate program is ready and in place to support families and businesses should natural gas prices spike this winter.

Combined with the electricity rebate and the provincial fuel tax relief program, Albertans are receiving more than $2 billion in support to help with the cost of living.

How the rebate works

In order to protect Albertans from natural gas price spikes this coming winter, the rebate program will operate until March 31, 2023. The exact rebate amount that Albertans will receive 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 will provide rebates to all eligible consumers covering the difference. For example, 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 will be eligible for the 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 on eligibility can be found in the affordability programs section on alberta.ca.

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 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 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.