Natural gas delivery is a fully regulated service in Alberta. This means our costs and rates are reviewed and approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) to ensure customers pay fair and appropriate costs. Our distribution charges are among the lowest in Canada.
The AUC also approves our Terms and Conditions, and our Code of Conduct Compliance Plans.
Natural Gas Rates
We work around the clock to make sure you have natural gas whenever you need it to heat your home, enjoy a hot shower or cook a meal for your family. The distribution charge on your bill covers our costs to provide this service to your home or business safely and reliably.
Your cost for natural gas delivery includes distribution rates and rate riders.
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Rider L
The Load Balancing Deferral Account Rider (Rider L) relates to the balancing of ATCO's Natural Gas Distribution system. A rider related to this can require a recovery of costs from customers or can result in a refund to customers from time to time, based on the rules established by the Alberta Utilities Commission.
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Rider S
The Rider S rate collects or refunds from customers the costs associated with recent regulatory decisions from the Alberta Utilities Commission.
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Rider T
The Transmission Service Charge collects from customers the costs for transmission service to its distribution system. The Alberta Utilities Commission has approved implementation of the charge to recover costs associated with transmission service.
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Rider W
The Weather Deferral Account was created to account for the effect of temperature fluctuations on billings to customers. Rider W is applied because the actual natural gas delivery revenue was lower (higher) than the normal natural gas delivery revenue, due to warmer (colder) than expected temperatures.
New! Alternative Technology & Appliance (ATA) Rate
A lower monthly fixed rate for those with minimal energy needs is available! If you use under 40 GJ of natural gas per year and take advantage of alternative technologies that lower natural gas usage, like using solar thermal, geo exchange or have net zero/near net zero emission homes, contact us or take a look at our information sheet. We will help you determine if you qualify to have the ATA rate applied to your natural gas usage. If you're curious about what the current ATA rate is, view our Current Rates page.
How Are You Billed?
You’re billed based on how much natural gas you use each period. We convert your meter readings into gigajoules (GJ), the unit of measurement for natural gas to determine your usage for each billing period. That number is provided to your energy retailer for billing purposes.
The following items make up the delivery charges on your bill:
- Fixed delivery charge covers the cost of building, operating, and maintaining our distribution system
- Variable charge is calculated based on the amount of natural gas you use and also helps cover the cost of maintaining the system.
- Rate rider is an adjustment approved by the AUC, to recover costs or refund money for something that is temporary, or caused by factors outside of our control.
- Municipal franchise fee is collected for the municipality for the exclusive right to provide gas distribution service to the residents and businesses located in the municipality as well as the right to use the municipality’s property for the construction, operation and extension of our gas distribution system.
- Federal Carbon Tax was implemented January 1, 2020 and is part of the Canadian Government’s comprehensive climate action plan. The carbon tax is a federally implanted program intended to lower carbon emissions. As of April 1, 2024 the fuel charge increased from $3.33/GJ to $4.095 GJ.
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Terms and Conditions
We value our relationships with customers and the retailers who supply energy in our service area. The Terms & Conditions outline how we do business with you, your rights and obligations, and our responsibilities.
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Current Rates
Your current natural gas delivery rates are provided based on where in the province you are and by how much natural gas you consume.
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Codes of conduct
We’re committed to being open, fair and transparent. It’s an ATCO core value and one we take very seriously. The way we work with other industry participants, including energy retailers and other ATCO companies, is governed by two codes of conduct. These codes set out the rules and standards we follow day in and day out in all of our dealings.
If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Commitment, please contact one of our privacy officers.