Albertans on the regulated rate option for natural gas will see a steep hike in October, with rates nearly doubling from last month.Direct Energy Regulated Services announced that customers in both ATCO Gas North and South territories will pay $1.429 per gigajoule (GJ), up from $0.722 in September. The Alberta Utilities Commission has verified the method used to set the rates.The company said the new rate reflects an October market price of $1.206 per GJ as reported by the NGX, plus an adjustment of $0.223 per GJ carried over from September and prior months.For the average household burning 9 GJ, a typical bill will rise to about $98 in the North and $82 in the South. The difference in bills comes from variances in ATCO Gas transmission and distribution charges.Albertans who want alternatives can shop around through the provincial government’s customer choice website..Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
