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General Information
Current Tariffs
Archived Tariffs
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ATCO Electric Participation in AESO Open Houses

 

More About Electricity Tariffs

  

Did You Know?

For information about your account or specific charges, please contact your energy retailer or regulated service provider. For information about your choices for buying electricity, visit www.ucahelps.gov.ab.ca.


Questions and answers about electricity distribution

  

  • ATCO Electric has more poles and wires per customer than any other electric utility in Alberta because our service area is large, rural and remote.

  • ATCO Electric’s distribution costs and how we charge your energy provider (distribution tariffs) are approved by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB).

  • The amount we are allowed to earn on our investment is also approved by the EUB.












     

 

What do distribution charges cover?

Distribution charges recover the costs ATCO Electric incurs to ensure electricity is available when you need it. These costs include:

  • Building, maintaining, upgrading and replacing power lines and facilities

  • 24-hour emergency response and power repair

  • Operating local offices

  • Installing and reading electricity meters

  • Routine clearing of trees and debris from power line rights-of-way

  • Providing consumption information to your retailer

  • Safety and energy awareness programs
     

ATCO Electric bills your retailer or regulated service provider for these distribution services, and your energy provider passes these costs on to you. Our costs and how we collect them from your energy provider are approved by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board in an open, public process.

 

Why do I pay for distribution even when I use no electricity?

Even if you use no energy, it still costs money to have the facilities in place and ready to serve you whenever you turn on the switch. It’s like having cable TV or telephone service. You pay a fixed fee so you can watch the channels you want (or use the phone) whenever you want. Even if you don’t watch TV or use the phone at a particular time – you still pay for the system that gives you the ability to do so.

 

My house has been here for 40 years – surely by now you’ve paid off the capital cost of the power lines to serve it?

Power lines and substations are constantly upgraded and rebuilt to maintain safe, reliable service. The necessary capital investment is financed over the useful life of the facility. Think of financing a new car with a loan over 12 or 15 years – by the time the loan is paid off, you will likely need to buy a new car, or at least finance a major overhaul to keep it in reliable working order.

 

I can choose my energy provider. Why can’t I choose a different distribution company? 

Think of electricity like a product you can buy over the telephone or Internet. You can choose to buy the item from any number of suppliers. Your chosen supplier will use a delivery company to ship it to you and charge you for the shipping.

In the utility business, regulated service providers and retailers use the same delivery company within a service area because it is not practical to build more than one set of power lines.

 

How do I know that the distribution charges are reasonable?

The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) regulates the delivery of electricity and distribution companies to ensure customers receive safe and reliable service at just and reasonable rates, while allowing investors to earn a fair rate of return on their investment to build the distribution system.

ATCO Electric’s costs and the way we recover them from your energy provider must be approved by the EUB in an open, public process.

 

How does ATCO Electric make its money?

In the regulated utility business, share owners are allowed to earn a reasonable rate of return on their investment to build, upgrade and maintain a reliable distribution system. The regulated rate of return approved by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, however, does not guarantee a profit.

If ATCO Electric fails to earn that return because of inflation or other reasons, we cannot recover that loss through a rate increase. We are allowed to recover differences between approved costs and approved rates, but we cannot recover lost earnings.

 

Why do distribution costs differ between distribution companies?

Utility companies build, operate, and maintain the low-voltage distribution systems that deliver the power to customers within their service areas. How much it costs to do this will depend on how big the system is, how new it is and how many customers are sharing the costs.

A distribution system that serves rural areas will cost more than a system that serves urban areas because the distribution company has to build, operate and maintain more poles, wires, and facilities to serve each customer. 

A newer distribution system will also cost more than an older one – just as a house built today will cost more than a house built 20 years ago.

The number of customers on a distribution system will also impact the cost-per-customer. With more people splitting the bill, it will cost each person less.

 

How does ATCO Electric recover its costs?

The costs we recover from energy providers are calculated based on distribution tariffs that have been scrutinized by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) and various interveners across the province. As a fully regulated company, any change in our tariffs must be approved by the EUB.

Current Distribution Tariffs

 

Why does ATCO Electric collect transmission costs? 

There are two components to the electricity delivery system: the local distribution system (owned and operated by utilities) and the high-voltage bulk transmission system.

Costs to use the transmission system – the high-voltage wires and towers used to transmit power from generation plants to the local distribution systems — are collected by the distribution company and remitted to the Alberta Electric System Operator which oversees the transmission system.

Transmission costs are recovered through a postage stamp rate as directed by provincial government policy. In other words, the rate charged for using the transmission system is the same for every customer in Alberta regardless of which utility company serves them.

 

What are rate riders?

Temporary credits or charges approved by Alberta Energy and Utilities Board to adjust for over or under collection of approved costs.

            Current Rate Riders

 

What is the local access fee?

This fee is set by your municipality as a charge for electric facilities on municipal property and/or the exclusive right to provide distribution service within the municipality. ATCO Electric collects this amount on behalf of your local town or city and then submits it to the municipality.

            Current Local Access Fees