Albertans will have to wait until at least the New Year before getting a rebate on their natural gas bill.
The forecasted natural gas price is expected to be $6.167 per gigajoule, below the $6.50 rebate triggering rate. At that price, the province’s rebate covers any per gigajoule rate above $6.50.
Since the rebate began in October, natural gas prices have not risen to $6.50. October’s rate was $5.632 per gigajoule and November’s rate was $5.641 per gigajoule.
The province’s affordability action plan web page previewed “changes to increase the natural gas price protection will be announced in the coming weeks.”
On Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith promised an additional help with home electricity bills “totalling an additional $200 per household,” but details have not been released. She also said the province would be “continuing with the current natural gas rebate program.”
When the program was announced in late June, it was scheduled to run from October 2022 to March 2023.