The short version: delivery is the half of your electricity bill that the distributor charges for keeping wires energised and bringing electricity from the grid to your home. It is regulated by the AUC, set in tariff filings, and identical regardless of which retailer is on the front of the bill. Three things make it up: a fixed monthly customer charge, a per-kWh variable charge, and a stack of riders.

The frustration most customers feel

"I signed for a 9-cent rate but my effective rate is 18 cents. What is going on?" The answer is delivery. The 9-cent rate is the energy charge. Once delivery is added — the fixed customer charge spread over your kWh plus the variable delivery rate plus riders — the effective per-kWh cost roughly doubles on a typical Alberta bill. This is not a billing error; it is the structure of the system.

The three pieces of delivery

Fixed customer charge

A flat monthly charge ($20 to $30 depending on distributor) that covers metering, billing, and minimum connection costs. Does not scale with use.

Variable delivery rate

A per-kWh charge (typically 4 to 8 cents) that covers distribution wires, transformers, and operations costs proportional to use.

Riders and adjustments

Small AUC-approved true-up lines that vary over time. Can add or subtract from the total.

Tool: what is my effective delivery rate per kWh?

The variable delivery rate is easy to read off your bill. The harder question is the all-in delivery cost per kWh after the fixed charge is spread across your usage. This tool calculates it.

Total delivery this month
$
Effective per-kWh delivery
¢

Falls as your usage rises — fixed charge is spread thinner.

The non-obvious thing about delivery rates and conservation

Households that reduce their kWh consumption do not save proportionally on delivery. The fixed customer charge stays the same, so cutting usage by 30 percent might cut your total bill by 18 to 22 percent rather than 30. This is not a billing trick — it is the cost recovery design of a fixed-cost network. Wires have to be built and maintained regardless of how much power flows through them, and somebody has to pay for them.

It also means that very small users (apartments, second homes) pay a much higher effective delivery rate per kWh than large users. The tariff is structurally biased toward higher-use customers, even though the variable rate looks the same.

What this means for your household

  • Delivery is the half of your bill no retailer can discount.
  • Small homes pay more per kWh on delivery in effective terms because of the fixed charge.
  • Conservation saves money but not proportionally — the fixed charge is uncuttable.
  • If your delivery rate seems unfair, the UCA argues your case in the next AUC rate case for that distributor.

Frequently asked questions

On small homes, the fixed customer charge does not shrink with usage. A small apartment can have delivery charges that are 50 to 70 percent of the total bill because the fixed line is large relative to a small variable usage component.
No. Every grid-connected customer pays delivery. Even a fully-self-supplying solar home pays a delivery charge because they are still connected to the grid for backup and import.
No. Each distributor files its own tariff. Rural distributors (with longer lines per customer) generally charge more per kWh than dense urban distributors.
They appear as their own line in many tariffs, but the cost flows through your distribution bill. Transmission is set by the AESO and embedded in the distributor's charges.
Distribution rates trend with the cost of capital, grid investment needs, and rate-case decisions. They typically rise with inflation in the long run; occasional rate cases can produce step changes.