By: Nick Clark
The NDP Government is making an effort to get a serious problem of climate change under control through a carbon tax. Look for prices to go up.
What can you do to manage your finances?
How do prices compare this year to last year? During November 2014 the NGX price for gas was $3.79/GJ. The 2015 November monthly price was running at $2.43—down 36%.
ELECTRICITY. The cost of electricity shipped into the grid by Alberta generators is at an all-time low. Prices are trending downwards towards the basement price of $18 per MWh. The weighted average price for November 2014 was $30.46/MWh.
If prices hold for the balance of December 2015, wholesale prices will show a drop of 40% this year compared to last. What does this mean? Many consumers on the Floating Rate for electricity paid under 3.5 cents per kWh for three consecutive months.
GREEN ALBERTA ENERGY. Consumers are in control and can green any portion of their energy consumption. Every little bit helps (The actual percentage is not important…just green what you can afford.) The price per kWh is 1.66 cents. But shop around for your own education.
In our minds, the previous government and the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) should never have allowed this to happen. Maybe it’s time they brought the work back home. Or maybe it’s time for consumers switch from big utility companies to Alberta companies that provide local services.
What can you do to manage your finances?
- Use 3.5 kWh as a benchmark. Pay attention to predictions for the price in 2018 because they will be considerably higher. Please also remember, de-regulation is working and energy prices now are at an all-time historic low.
- Consumers have options. You do have the ability to shop around for your electricity and purchase from companies other than the big utilities such as EPCOR and Enmax. Here’s some ideas to consider.
How do prices compare this year to last year? During November 2014 the NGX price for gas was $3.79/GJ. The 2015 November monthly price was running at $2.43—down 36%.
ELECTRICITY. The cost of electricity shipped into the grid by Alberta generators is at an all-time low. Prices are trending downwards towards the basement price of $18 per MWh. The weighted average price for November 2014 was $30.46/MWh.
If prices hold for the balance of December 2015, wholesale prices will show a drop of 40% this year compared to last. What does this mean? Many consumers on the Floating Rate for electricity paid under 3.5 cents per kWh for three consecutive months.
"Once higher carbon taxes filter down to consumers, you will want to move off the Floating Rate and lock in."
GREEN ALBERTA ENERGY. Consumers are in control and can green any portion of their energy consumption. Every little bit helps (The actual percentage is not important…just green what you can afford.) The price per kWh is 1.66 cents. But shop around for your own education.
- Consumers do not need to be tricked into paying for 100% of their green energy consumption; the grid already is partially green. Green 75% to 80% of your consumption and you will save some money compared to what others are offering. You get to comparison shop today.
- Consumers needn’t overpay by buying packages. Instead, consumers now are in control of how much they want to green by selecting a percentage. They only are charged based on exactly what they consume.
- Jobs with big utility companies are going off- shore. Why?
- ENMAX laid off workers in November 2015 and, earlier in the year, they shipped IT jobs to the Tata Group over in India
- ATCO iTek sold their IT business to Wipro in India
- Direct Energy outsourced their billing service to HCL in India and call center services are in Cebul
- Just Energy’s telephone call centre that serves Alberta consumers is located in Connecticut, USA
In our minds, the previous government and the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) should never have allowed this to happen. Maybe it’s time they brought the work back home. Or maybe it’s time for consumers switch from big utility companies to Alberta companies that provide local services.