Direct Energy Regulated Services (DERS) announced lower default natural gas rates across Alberta for September. These rates will apply to people who have not chosen a competitive supplier within the ATCO Gas north and south service territories, according to a Wednesday press release. DERS said the rates have been verified by the Alberta Utilities Commission.The north service territory includes people living in and north of Red Deer. For customers in the north service territory, DERS said the September regulated natural gas rate is decreasing from the August rate of $0.936 per gigajoule to $0.848 per gigajoule.It said this rate reflects a market price for September supplies of about $0.762 per gigajoule as reported by the NGX and incorporates an adjustment of $0.087 per gigajoule for August and prior months. The typical residential gas bill for September based on an average five gigajoules of consumption would be about $99 in the north.The south service territory includes customers living south of Red Deer. For customers in the south service territory, it said the September regulated natural gas rate is decreasing from the August rate of $0.936 per gigajoule to $0.848 per gigajoule. It pointed out this rate reflects a market price for September supplies of about $0.762 per gigajoule as reported by the NGX and incorporates an adjustment of $0.087 per gigajoule for August and prior months. The typical residential gas bill for September based on an average five gigajoules of consumption would be about $81 in the south.The Alberta government said its work to modernize the electricity system is well underway, with measures to prevent power price spikes coming into effect in July and more to come next year. “Our government promised to lower Albertans’ utility bills, and I am proud to see our efforts yield results,” said Alberta Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf. “The numbers speak for themselves and prove that our government’s new policies are working, with much more still yet to come.” The Alberta government confirmed its initial work on modernization means Albertans have seen significant decreases of almost 60% on their August electricity bills. Since coming into effect in July, it said the Market Power Mitigation Regulation is keeping more money in Albertans’ pockets. DERS announced in April its default rates in Alberta would be coming down about 21% in May. READ MORE: Alberta natural gas rates continue to fall another 20% for consumersCustomers in the southern area will be paying $1.53 per gigajoule — down from $1.93 in April. That is the exact amount customers in the northern area will be paying.However, that is down from more than $6.44 per gigajoule recorded for the default gas rate in January and $7.07 in 2022.
