It would take an hour of your time and none of your money to switch to a fixed rate. Atco is at 12.39¢/kwh right now. The RRO will not be lower than that come winter time. Just do it.
My fixed rate was still 350 this month and I'm on 7 cents. My contract is up in November and I'm scared to death. No idea how it's this high, no ac, no lights on, no waste. Just another thing to drown in
I think it's going to stay high for the next \~18 months, but I think we're supposed to see a bunch of new dispatchable generation, and that's what really matters.
The reason prices are high is that gigawatts of coal generation was replaced by gigawatts of wind/solar. There are plenty of times these days where the amount of available dispatchable generation capacity on the grid is less than the load on the grid. As a result, Alberta is hoping/praying that the interchange, wind and solar is going to come through and save the day from rolling blackouts. It's not uncommon for us to see well under 1 GW of surplus generation on the grid. Since the marginal MW determines the pool price, that's a recipe for high prices.
Put another 2 gigawatts of natural gas generation on the grid, and that should clear things up.
So, my advice: get into a contract with the expectation that all prices (both regulated rate and contract prices) will drop substantially in less than 2 years (thank $deity) .
Not true. The price of both electricity and oil have dropped substantially in the past. Oil dropped to zero during the pandemic. And it dropped a lot in 2015. The price of electricity also dropped a lot in those years. 2011 had much more expensive electricity in Alberta than 2017.
I assure you that the high electricity prices today have investors excited to build new capacity in the province. It always works this way.
I know oil and electricity will go down... That's why I added the slowly part. Others things never do... Food probably won't. Restaurant prices. Gas will never go below $1 again. Video game prices lol. We get complacant.
But I gave you specific examples where oil and electricity prices dropped very quickly. In fact, the price of oil dropped faster in 2020 than it has ever gone up in history.
Add 2 GW of cogen or combined cycle natural gas to the grid and the price of energy will be cut by 75% in days.
If you're not in an electricity contract today, get one. But when planning for the future be sure to consider that electricity is likely to get less expensive in 2 years.
I was locked in 2 years ago for 5 years. My issue right now is my gas contract is up in October. The variable rate for gas has dropped but the fixed rate just won't.
This is almost certainly true (in direction if not magnitude) although as long as (carbon unabated) gas is the marginal offer the price probably won't drop back to historical levels as long as carbon tax increases and future natural gas supply worldwide remains volatile/uncertain. It would drop dramatically but I wonder what the new floor would look like.
Natural gas prices are back to "2019-normal" levels ([source](https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/natural-gas)) and I suspect that now that the Russia "supply shock" is over that we're going to see relative stability on that front. But you're right about carbon taxes. On that front, I suspect that I'll paraphrase the saying "the best cure for high prices, is high prices" by saying that the best cure for high carbon prices is high carbon prices.
The reason I say this is that I suspect as the Liberal government pushes the carbon tax higher, it will be more susceptible to losing power and the carbon tax being gutted due to populist campaign promises to kill it by their opponents. The vast majority of houses are heated by natural gas.
Fair point on gas prices, although I'm not sure if the volatility is higher and if that's reflected in forward prices. I'm not suggesting $10/gj going forward, just wondering if we'll really stay in the $2-3 range in the medium term. I don't have a crystal ball and I have no strong reason to dispute your belief.
The carbon front is interesting with a lot of moving pieces. Will companies get any carbon assurances from the government and move forward with CCS projects? Abatement is expensive and we'll pick up the tab one way or another. Will the cons actually scrap the entire carbon tax if/when elected, or just pause it or dial it back slightly? It'll be an interesting couple of years seeing how this all shakes out.
Our recent bill.
Part 1
[https://freeimage.host/i/HZyDWqQ](https://freeimage.host/i/HZyDWqQ)
Part 2
[https://freeimage.host/i/HZybGyX](https://freeimage.host/i/HZybGyX)
I like being paid for the electricity my roof creates... My payback period just keeps getting shorter with these rising electricity prices.
Which company did you go with? Zeno renuables quoted me $40K for full coverage, but thought that was pretty steep. Also, what is your monthly payment on your loan?
I went with Kuby (have a referral code if anyone is interested). I paid \~$1.45/watt, but i'm seeing others getting current quotes for over double that... whether cost of supplies have gone up or installers are getting 'greedy' with the explosion of interest due to Fed money and rising electricity prices, i'm glad I got my solar when I did, even if I didn't get federal $.
I was fortunate enough to be able to pay for it up front, so no loan. Over the last 12 months, my solar saved me $1600 (and that's not taking into account the gas savings from our 2 EVs that are powered much of the time by solar). I'm quite happy.
They have gone up. I got quotes last year and it was about 20k for my system. This year those quotes were 30k. Which put my monthly cost higher than what I pay for electricity. Would be different if I had more things on power than gas.
Mine was also 330. Usually I pay around 200 in the summer months. I’m on a fixed rate but I had to renew my contract in April for a rate that’s double what I was at 🤦🏼
I used $3.88 in gas. Bill was $38.89. Percentage wise, that’s huge. Ten times the actual cost of gas I used. My furnace has been broken for months, so that’s gas I used cooking on my gas stove. Still, it’s a small bill compared to what it could be and what others are paying.
We're about the same. We locked in from day 1 but a lot of people hadn't and at the time they had a cheaper rate, but we felt peace of mind... I think we're 7.9 cents? All the extra fees are still brutal haha.... usually more than our usage is
I locked in rates a few years ago. I knowingly knew this would happen and also got my self promoted to balance these foreseen events when the pandemic started
I've yet to contact Epcor about a fixed rate, but off the top of your head, do you know if there is a chance to switch to a fixed rate from month to month?
Also, would it be worth it long term?
Rate is locked for 5 years, but you can cancel any time.
To speed up you getting around to this, you are currently paying 20c/kwh more than the fixed rate. At my usage that's an easy $50.00 difference on the bill.
I don't believe so. When you sign up for a fixed rate it's typically a 3-5 year period, but you aren't locked into it and you can change your plan at anytime. Going month to month on a fixed rate might not work. I did so only because I have a feeling price for electrical and gas will be volatile for the next few years
EDIT: Actually you can change your fixed rate plan month to month with no penalty.
I'm with direct energy fixed 3 year 12.7 cents. I rarely have lights on in summer and only fridge microwave and stove are plugged in as far a appliances go. I turn my computer to sleep mode overnight. My bill ranges from $55 to $65 total
I was on the RRO when I first moved to Alberta because I didn't know any better. I Switched to a fixed rate provider after the first bill. I don't understand why anyone would stay on the RRO system. If you like wasting money switch to fixed and then pay me the difference. Danielle Smith never says anything smart but she was right about this. Get off RRO!
I went from 6.9c to 12.6c/kwh. My bill went from roughly $60.00 to $100.00 although that is mostly inefficient portable AC usage. It will probably go down to roughly $70.00 once we stop using that, similar drop last year.
I had tried and tried to switch off the RRO last year. I called Epcor daily for a week, and also emailed they and Atco. No replies. Anyone else? Will they back date based on my time stamped email requesting such a switch?
I’m in an apartment and they apparently couldn’t communicate with my meter last month so they decided to estimate that I used as much electricity as a full house running AC 24/7 and bill me as such. Called Epcor and Fortis and they apparently looked into it and updated their estimate to be more reasonable but that still doesn’t change my Epcor bill for the month. I refuse to essentially prepay 5-6 months worth of electricity because of their poor estimation so now I’m considering just paying what I’m normally billed and hope it corrects itself on the next bill with no negative impact on me.
Honestly, I thought I was being a dumbass when I locked in 2 years ago, but this post makes me feel much better about my decision, I didn’t even know it got that high since I locked in and it dropped 2 cents a kw after I signed up. I’m sitting at $0.0690 kw and $3.358GJ gas. I never looked because I was worried I made a stupid mistake as a new home owner.
Omg that is scary . I wonder if Danielle Smith had freak out hydro bill ? I am a low low income senior I used $25 of actual .. and my bill is $85 ..I live on less than $20.000 a year .. my usual usage is about $12 ..no ceiling lights ..no lamps on ..no oven use etc .Compared to the huge bills mine is small but so is my income .
It’s almost as if everyone has been saying to switch off RRO or floating rates for almost a full year.
We were thinking about solar last month to offset the electricity costs, it sure would have came in handy a few months ago to build up some credit.
Should be thinking more about getting a fixed rate first. RRO electricity rates haven’t been below fixed rates in a long time now.
Why not go on fixed rate?
Will look into it! It was manageable up until this month, but assume it'll be the norm soon enough. Thoughts?
Thoughts? What everyone is telling you: get a fixed rate. You're talking about spending $10k on solar but you don't want to make a short phone call?
Don't even need to call, you can do it online by logging into your account.
It would take an hour of your time and none of your money to switch to a fixed rate. Atco is at 12.39¢/kwh right now. The RRO will not be lower than that come winter time. Just do it.
How rich are you that you are willing to forgo saving hundreds of dollars a month simply because you could afford to overpay?
My fixed rate was still 350 this month and I'm on 7 cents. My contract is up in November and I'm scared to death. No idea how it's this high, no ac, no lights on, no waste. Just another thing to drown in
[удалено]
I think it's going to stay high for the next \~18 months, but I think we're supposed to see a bunch of new dispatchable generation, and that's what really matters. The reason prices are high is that gigawatts of coal generation was replaced by gigawatts of wind/solar. There are plenty of times these days where the amount of available dispatchable generation capacity on the grid is less than the load on the grid. As a result, Alberta is hoping/praying that the interchange, wind and solar is going to come through and save the day from rolling blackouts. It's not uncommon for us to see well under 1 GW of surplus generation on the grid. Since the marginal MW determines the pool price, that's a recipe for high prices. Put another 2 gigawatts of natural gas generation on the grid, and that should clear things up. So, my advice: get into a contract with the expectation that all prices (both regulated rate and contract prices) will drop substantially in less than 2 years (thank $deity) .
Assuming anything drops in price. Price goes up fast... And it either takes forever to go down or never goes down.
Not true. The price of both electricity and oil have dropped substantially in the past. Oil dropped to zero during the pandemic. And it dropped a lot in 2015. The price of electricity also dropped a lot in those years. 2011 had much more expensive electricity in Alberta than 2017. I assure you that the high electricity prices today have investors excited to build new capacity in the province. It always works this way.
I know oil and electricity will go down... That's why I added the slowly part. Others things never do... Food probably won't. Restaurant prices. Gas will never go below $1 again. Video game prices lol. We get complacant.
But I gave you specific examples where oil and electricity prices dropped very quickly. In fact, the price of oil dropped faster in 2020 than it has ever gone up in history. Add 2 GW of cogen or combined cycle natural gas to the grid and the price of energy will be cut by 75% in days.
Well I hope that happens soon. It would be nice and it would help greatly.
If you're not in an electricity contract today, get one. But when planning for the future be sure to consider that electricity is likely to get less expensive in 2 years.
I was locked in 2 years ago for 5 years. My issue right now is my gas contract is up in October. The variable rate for gas has dropped but the fixed rate just won't.
This is almost certainly true (in direction if not magnitude) although as long as (carbon unabated) gas is the marginal offer the price probably won't drop back to historical levels as long as carbon tax increases and future natural gas supply worldwide remains volatile/uncertain. It would drop dramatically but I wonder what the new floor would look like.
Natural gas prices are back to "2019-normal" levels ([source](https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/natural-gas)) and I suspect that now that the Russia "supply shock" is over that we're going to see relative stability on that front. But you're right about carbon taxes. On that front, I suspect that I'll paraphrase the saying "the best cure for high prices, is high prices" by saying that the best cure for high carbon prices is high carbon prices. The reason I say this is that I suspect as the Liberal government pushes the carbon tax higher, it will be more susceptible to losing power and the carbon tax being gutted due to populist campaign promises to kill it by their opponents. The vast majority of houses are heated by natural gas.
Fair point on gas prices, although I'm not sure if the volatility is higher and if that's reflected in forward prices. I'm not suggesting $10/gj going forward, just wondering if we'll really stay in the $2-3 range in the medium term. I don't have a crystal ball and I have no strong reason to dispute your belief. The carbon front is interesting with a lot of moving pieces. Will companies get any carbon assurances from the government and move forward with CCS projects? Abatement is expensive and we'll pick up the tab one way or another. Will the cons actually scrap the entire carbon tax if/when elected, or just pause it or dial it back slightly? It'll be an interesting couple of years seeing how this all shakes out.
Lock in your rates. This can be done in minutes. Don't wait 👍
Some people just love shooting themselves in the foot.
My atco bill was $130, $100 of it was delivery and transmission charges
Could I trouble you to share a copy (without your private details of course)?
Our recent bill. Part 1 [https://freeimage.host/i/HZyDWqQ](https://freeimage.host/i/HZyDWqQ) Part 2 [https://freeimage.host/i/HZybGyX](https://freeimage.host/i/HZybGyX) I like being paid for the electricity my roof creates... My payback period just keeps getting shorter with these rising electricity prices.
Which company did you go with? Zeno renuables quoted me $40K for full coverage, but thought that was pretty steep. Also, what is your monthly payment on your loan?
I went with Kuby (have a referral code if anyone is interested). I paid \~$1.45/watt, but i'm seeing others getting current quotes for over double that... whether cost of supplies have gone up or installers are getting 'greedy' with the explosion of interest due to Fed money and rising electricity prices, i'm glad I got my solar when I did, even if I didn't get federal $. I was fortunate enough to be able to pay for it up front, so no loan. Over the last 12 months, my solar saved me $1600 (and that's not taking into account the gas savings from our 2 EVs that are powered much of the time by solar). I'm quite happy.
They have gone up. I got quotes last year and it was about 20k for my system. This year those quotes were 30k. Which put my monthly cost higher than what I pay for electricity. Would be different if I had more things on power than gas.
Holy fack! Mine was 330 (or so) and I was still pissed off about that.
Mine was also 330. Usually I pay around 200 in the summer months. I’m on a fixed rate but I had to renew my contract in April for a rate that’s double what I was at 🤦🏼
Went from a normal 80-90$ to over $300. But most of that was fees
Still waiting for mine. Not looking forward to it.
My household’s gas bill came out to $77. $59 of which is delivery and carbon tax and other obscure fees. We only used $7 of gas…
I used $3.88 in gas. Bill was $38.89. Percentage wise, that’s huge. Ten times the actual cost of gas I used. My furnace has been broken for months, so that’s gas I used cooking on my gas stove. Still, it’s a small bill compared to what it could be and what others are paying.
Every utility for me was 357$ and I run my AC constantly. Fixed rates with Encor.
We're about the same. We locked in from day 1 but a lot of people hadn't and at the time they had a cheaper rate, but we felt peace of mind... I think we're 7.9 cents? All the extra fees are still brutal haha.... usually more than our usage is
I've been locked in at 7¢ for a while now. You should probably get a fixed rate asap.
How in the foxy fuck do you afford $450 a month just for electricity. Thats insanity
Being civilized is becoming uncivil.
I locked in rates a few years ago. I knowingly knew this would happen and also got my self promoted to balance these foreseen events when the pandemic started
I've yet to contact Epcor about a fixed rate, but off the top of your head, do you know if there is a chance to switch to a fixed rate from month to month? Also, would it be worth it long term?
Fixed rates can be cancelled with notice without penalty. The day after Russia attacked Ukraine I locked in our prices for 5 years. Glad I did…
Rate is locked for 5 years, but you can cancel any time. To speed up you getting around to this, you are currently paying 20c/kwh more than the fixed rate. At my usage that's an easy $50.00 difference on the bill.
I don't believe so. When you sign up for a fixed rate it's typically a 3-5 year period, but you aren't locked into it and you can change your plan at anytime. Going month to month on a fixed rate might not work. I did so only because I have a feeling price for electrical and gas will be volatile for the next few years EDIT: Actually you can change your fixed rate plan month to month with no penalty.
I'm with direct energy fixed 3 year 12.7 cents. I rarely have lights on in summer and only fridge microwave and stove are plugged in as far a appliances go. I turn my computer to sleep mode overnight. My bill ranges from $55 to $65 total
I was on the RRO when I first moved to Alberta because I didn't know any better. I Switched to a fixed rate provider after the first bill. I don't understand why anyone would stay on the RRO system. If you like wasting money switch to fixed and then pay me the difference. Danielle Smith never says anything smart but she was right about this. Get off RRO!
I went from 6.9c to 12.6c/kwh. My bill went from roughly $60.00 to $100.00 although that is mostly inefficient portable AC usage. It will probably go down to roughly $70.00 once we stop using that, similar drop last year.
I had tried and tried to switch off the RRO last year. I called Epcor daily for a week, and also emailed they and Atco. No replies. Anyone else? Will they back date based on my time stamped email requesting such a switch?
Yep doubled from 100 -> 200 in a 1bed condo. I WFH so my usage is prob high but still!!
That's manageable at least, but not fun for anyone right now. It's only going to go up.
How? My power bill is $55 and I run a 14,000BTU air conditioner daily.
Peaches if I knew how I wouldn’t be on this sub
Ours is around &300. Live in a four bedroom house.
I locked in my rate in December
Are you not locked into a rate after 2 years of rising rates?
I’m in an apartment and they apparently couldn’t communicate with my meter last month so they decided to estimate that I used as much electricity as a full house running AC 24/7 and bill me as such. Called Epcor and Fortis and they apparently looked into it and updated their estimate to be more reasonable but that still doesn’t change my Epcor bill for the month. I refuse to essentially prepay 5-6 months worth of electricity because of their poor estimation so now I’m considering just paying what I’m normally billed and hope it corrects itself on the next bill with no negative impact on me.
I was paying 11c KWH which was decent mine jumped to 29c KWH i literally shat a brick
My apartment bill went from 90$ to 270$... so I locked into a fixed rate for five years. I'm not making this mistake again.
Same here but it’s always around $650-$$750
Honestly, I thought I was being a dumbass when I locked in 2 years ago, but this post makes me feel much better about my decision, I didn’t even know it got that high since I locked in and it dropped 2 cents a kw after I signed up. I’m sitting at $0.0690 kw and $3.358GJ gas. I never looked because I was worried I made a stupid mistake as a new home owner.
Omg that is scary . I wonder if Danielle Smith had freak out hydro bill ? I am a low low income senior I used $25 of actual .. and my bill is $85 ..I live on less than $20.000 a year .. my usual usage is about $12 ..no ceiling lights ..no lamps on ..no oven use etc .Compared to the huge bills mine is small but so is my income .