Status: The Utility Commodity Rebate Act came into force on April 29, 2022
Ministry responsible: Energy
Overview
The Utility Commodity Rebate Act (formerly Bill 18) established new legislation to allow government to provide upcoming electricity and heating rebates to Albertans.
The Utility Commodity Rebate Act also repealed the Natural Gas Price Protection Act, which doesn’t allow for rebates on electricity bills. The new act enables the creation of an Electricity Rebate Program and a Natural Gas Rebate Program to help Albertans manage the cost of electricity and natural gas.
Most households, small apartment buildings, farms, and small industrial and commercial businesses will be eligible for both rebates. This includes an electricity rebate providing help to more than 1.9 million families, farms and businesses who experienced high electricity charges in January, February and March 2022.
Changes are part of our ongoing efforts to combat the rising cost of living and help Albertans keep more money in their pockets.
Key changes
The Utility Commodity Rebate Act repealed the Natural Gas Price Protection Act and introduced changes to:
- bring all utility commodities under one act to develop regulations quickly for different types of commodities, fuels, and rebate price thresholds
- enable government to issue upcoming electricity rebates of $50 per month for 3 consecutive months, for a total rebate of $150, for customers whose electricity use is under 250 MW hours per year
- enable government to provide a natural gas rebate if regulated natural gas rates exceed $6.50 per gigajoule next winter
Learn more: Bill 18, the Utility Commodity Rebate Act fact sheet.
Next steps
The Utility Commodity Rebate Act took effect on April 29. Learn more about affordability programs to help Albertans keep more money in their pockets.
News
- Enabling energy rebates for nearly 2M Albertans (April, 20, 2022)