The Alberta government has implemented a four-year cap on power prices. The price cap ensures Albertans on the regulated rate option (RRO), rural electrification associations (REAs) and those in Medicine Hat (where residential customers are billed on Medicine Hat specific rates) will pay no more than 6.8 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity from June 1, 2017 to May 31, 2021. For RRO providers regulated by the AUC, if their rate exceeds the cap, the government will pay the provider the difference between the actual price and the cap for each kWh of electricity consumed by their price cap eligible customers. For RRO providers not regulated by the AUC, REAs and the City of Medicine Hat, if their rate exceeds the cap, the government will pay the provider the difference between the lower of the actual price or the reference rate, and the cap for each kWh of electricity consumed by their price cap eligible customers. The price cap applies only to the energy portion of a bill. Distribution and transmission charges are not covered by the cap.
More information on the electricity price cap can be found on the Alberta government’s website.
Reference rates
The government has determined it will compensate rural electrification associations, other RRO providers not regulated by the Alberta Utilities Commission and the City of Medicine Hat for amounts not collected from customers due to the rate cap. The applicable reference rates are available below.
Rural electrification associations and other regulated rate option providers not regulated by the AUC
Reference rate is the average of the AUC regulated residential regulated rate option rates, plus 10 per cent.
Month | Reference rate |
December 2019 | 8.522 cents/kWh |
November 2019 | 8.853 cents/kWh |
October 2019 | 7.747 cents/kWh |
September 2019 | 8.669 cents/kWh |
August 2019 | 10.366 cents/kWh |
July 2019 | 9.826 cents/kWh |
June 2019 | 7.448 cents/kWh |
May 2019 | 7.277 cents/kWh |
April 2019 | 7.107 cents/kWh |
March 2019 | 6.541 cents/kWh |
February 2019 | 7.808 cents/kWh |
January 2019 | 8.454 cents/kWh |
December 2018 | 8.344 cents/kWh |
Medicine Hat
Reference rate is the average of the AUC regulated residential RRO rates.
Month | Reference rate |
December 2019 | 7.747 cents/kWh |
November 2019 | 8.048 cents/kWh |
October 2019 | 7.043 cents/kWh |
September 2019 | 7.881 cents/kWh |
August 2019 | 9.423 cents/kWh |
July 2019 | 8.933 cents/kWh |
June 2019 | 6.771 cents/kWh |
May 2019 | 6.616 cents/kWh |
April 2019 | 6.461 cents/kWh |
March 2019 | 5.947 cents/kWh |
February 2019 | 7.098 cents/kWh |
January 2019 | 7.685 cents/kWh |
December 2018 | 7.585 cents/kWh |