Natural gas rates will be going down in October.
Direct Energy Regulated Services announced on Monday that rates for customers in the ATCO Gas North service territory, which includes the City of Red Deer and north, and ATCO Gas South, which covers the area south of Red Deer, will drop to $4.595 per GJ from $6.146 GJ.
The rate reflects an October market price of $4.267 per GJ as reported by the Calgary-based Natural Gas Exchange (NGX). The rate also includes a $0.328 adjustment for September and prior months.
The typical residential gas bill for October for the northern area based on an average of nine GJ of consumption will be about $157.
In ATCO Gas South, the typical monthly bill will be about $143.
These rates have been verified by the Alberta Utilities Commission and apply to customers who have not chosen a competitive supplier.
Meanwhile, Albertans hoping to get some natural gas bill relief will have to wait at least until November.
The province said last month the rebate is ready to go into effect on Oct. 1, when the monthly default rate exceeds $6.50 per gigajoule.
But since October prices won’t reach that threshold, the province said the rebate will not be triggered until at least November.
If the regulated rate from providers ATCO Gas North and ATCO Gas South, as served by Direct Energy Regulated Services, or Apex Utilities goes above $7.50 per GJ, eligible consumers will receive a rebate of $1 per GJ they use.