Calgary's Regulated Default Electricity Rate for December 2009

CALGARY , Nov. 30 /CNW/ - ENMAX Power is advising that the default electricity rate for Calgary will be 8.31 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), effective December 1, 2009 . This is an increase of 13.5 per cent from last month's rate of 7.32 cents per kWh. Consumers who have selected a retailer and entered into a fixed price contract will not be affected by this price change.

What can customers do?

Customers have options regarding their energy bill. They are:

    
      -  Choose to do nothing and receive the regulated default rate, which
         fluctuates each month.

      -  Select a retailer and choose an energy plan that offers fixed prices
         over longer terms. Information on these is available from the
         Alberta Government's Utilities Consumer Advocate at
         www.ucahelps.gov.ab.ca, or call 310-4822. The Utilities Consumer
         Advocate's website provides a list of energy retailers and the terms
         of their various offers which assists consumers in comparing the
         choices that are available to them.
    

What is the default rate?

The technically correct name for the default rate is the Regulated Rate Option (RRO). It applies when consumers have not selected a retailer and entered into an energy plan for electricity supply. The owner of the local distribution system is required by legislation to provide the RRO to eligible customers (residential and small commercial customers who consume less than 250,000 kWh of electricity each year) in their service area. ENMAX Power is the local distribution company in Calgary and fully supports the competitive market for electricity and consumers' rights to choose their own energy plan. Anyone who has not chosen to enter into an energy plan with a retail supplier receives the RRO by default.

The default rate is calculated each month from prices in the wholesale electricity market using a process approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission. Eighty per cent of the rate comes from purchases made from sellers into the wholesale electricity market of supply contracts for the month of December, and the remainder comes from longer-term purchases made at market prices.

As of July 1, 2009 this default rate reflects a higher percentage of shorter-term market prices in accordance with provincial government regulations introduced in 2006. This could potentially cause the default rate to fluctuate more than it has in the past. Prices change with the energy market, depending on changing weather, seasonal consumption demands and fuel costs such as natural gas prices. A new price for the default rate is set each month that reflects current market price conditions.

The most recent annual default rate pricing shift in July 2009 further increases the importance of consumers examining their own energy cost choices.

ENMAX Power Corporation, a subsidiary of ENMAX Corporation, and its predecessors have provided Albertans with safe and reliable electricity for more than 100 years. One of the most reliable urban utilities in Canada , ENMAX Power owns, operates and maintains the distribution and much of the transmission network in and around Calgary , which are activities regulated by the Alberta Utilities Commission. Non-regulated subsidiaries of ENMAX Power provide engineering, procurement, and construction services as well as maintenance for electrical servicing of residential and commercial developments and light rail transit systems. Visit our website at enmaxpower.com.

For further information: Media only contact: Doris Kaufmann, Senior Media Relations Advisor, ENMAX Corporation, C. [phone] (media line), E. [email protected]