Medicine Hat natural gas rate jumps to $1.907/GJ for October
The city's default electricity rate for residential customers remains pinned at the provincial minimum despite a higher wholesale calculation.
Why it matters
Medicine Hat households will see higher gas bills this month even as their electricity rate stays capped at the provincial minimum.
The City of Medicine Hat has set its October 2026 energy commodity rates, raising the natural gas rate to $1.907 per gigajoule from $1.250 in September. The gas rate reflects the weighted average cost of the city's gas purchases for the month plus seven cents per gigajoule for transactional costs and a small rate of return.
For residential, farm, small and medium commercial, unmetered service and rental lighting customers, the calculated electricity rate for October through December works out to 4.19 cents per kilowatt-hour. Under the city's Electric Utility Bylaw, however, the default rate cannot fall below seven cents per kilowatt-hour, so eligible customers will be billed at that seven-cent minimum instead.
The electricity rate is based on a 12-month, volume-weighted forecast of the wholesale market and is recalculated each January, April, July and October, within a range of seven to 11 cents per kilowatt-hour. Large commercial, industrial and street lighting customers will keep paying a default rate of 12.025 cents per kilowatt-hour, tied to the average of regulated rates posted under Alberta's Rate of Last Resort regulations, expected to hold through Dec. 31, 2026.
Customers also pay a 'Going Green' surcharge for renewable energy purchases, which was 0.50 cents per kilowatt-hour in September. Further details on the city's energy rates are available on Medicine Hat's website.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.