Electricity prices soaring for City of Lethbridge customers as demand spikes

A quick look at your City of Lethbridge utility bill and it’s easy to see a big jump in the price of electricity.

“This summer saw the energy costs go up about a 100 per cent, about double from what they were earlier this year,” said Jason Drenth, the city’s electricity utility manager.

In July, City of Lethbridge customers were paying nearly 11 cents per kilowatt hour.

Drenth said the record hot summer in Lethbridge and throughout Alberta is to blame for the spike.

“It really comes down to supply and demand, so what we saw this summer was really hot weather drove really high air conditioning use, so demand across the province went up.”

Drenth added it’s not the City of Lethbridge that sets the price.  the city doesn’t set the price, “Its a provincial market so that’s set by AESO, the Alberta Electricity System Operator, they manage the market for the whole province of Alberta, they manage the generation to match demand.”

In December 2019, the UCP government removed the Alberta rate cap program, meaning the price per kilowatt hour can go past the previously set cap of 6.8 cents.

Consumers can opt for a fixed-rate option for electricity with a private company. The current rates for Alberta providers are on the Alberta Utilities Commission website.

Drenth said as the cost climbs in peak seasons, the best way to lower your bill is to watch your consumption.

“Summertime, it’s, you know, try and reduce the amount of air conditioning you use so it’s not running all of the time,” he said.

“When it comes to wintertime, it’s usually due to heating, so try keep things maybe a little bit cooler, and just remember to turn off your lights.”

Electricity use is typically lowest in the spring and fall so Drenth said he’s optimistic the bill totals for Lethbridge customers will start to drop now that September is here.